IT COULD BE WORSE

Levan’s debut novel tells a story of one woman’s past trauma and how it affects her present.

Twenty-something Allegra Gil is a Miami-based trauma counselor, and a woman who effectively exists in two very different worlds. In the present day, she lives with her idyllic husband, Benito, and their two young children. But she can’t escape her past with her abusive parents, including a narcissistic mother who says things such as “You have no idea how much having children will hold you back from the things you love.” Her parents are still making her feel small, even into her adulthood; Allegra has, at some level, enabled such behavior in order to keep the peace. That is, until she discovers a letter that changes everything: “I grappled with what to do. Who to tell. What to make of it all.” It’s the catalyst for her to finally start shaking off her anxieties and fear, embrace spirituality, and find courage to break a cycle that threatens her own children. Levan does not shy away from the difficult, yet relatable, issues that plague her protagonist––from emotional abuse and body shaming to miscarriage and life-threatening illness. She shows how Allegra pulls together the hazy pieces of her life and reconciles herself with the fact that all of them, good and bad, have made her into the person she is today. As a character, she’s a quiet presence, but readers will root for her during her slow journey to emotional resolution. Throughout, Levan seems more concerned with detail and discovery, placing moments of realism and characterization ahead of advancing the plot. Anyone willing to travel with her, often through memories that flood into her present life, will appreciate an acute portrait of a woman reckoning with her own history; it may even inspire some readers to take note of the boundaries in their own lives.

A poignant slice-of-life drama about comforting one’s inner child and moving forward.