THE FAMILY WAY

This prequel to Flying With a Broken Wing (2013) and Cammie Takes Flight (2017) addresses a dark chapter in Nova Scotia history.

When 12-year-old Tulia May is not busy helping her hardworking laundress mother, she dreams about meeting the baby Dionne quintuplets. Tulia’s widowed mother works for the Ideal Maternity Home in rural East Chester in 1939. It’s a facility where unwed mothers can give birth in discreet secrecy—however, as Tulia and her friend Finny Paul begin to suspect, not everything is as it seems. The mystery becomes even more urgent when Becky, Tulia’s unmarried older sister, finds herself pregnant and resident in the home. It emerges that some babies are being starved and their bodies secretly disposed of while others are sold to wealthy families. Tulia naturally wonders what will become of Becky and her baby. The book does an admirable job of navigating the painful complexities of adoption, infant death, unplanned pregnancy, and women’s limited choices, all presented through Tulia’s young eyes. Most characters are White; First Nations character Finny is the target of verbal and physical racist assaults throughout. His portrayal unfortunately lacks depth, and his treatment is given inadequate context by the publisher’s opening note on language, with the result that his suffering feels voyeuristic and exploitative. While this work, based on real events, can stand on its own, the unresolved loose threads will leave readers wondering what happens next.

A compelling story grounded in historical pain but weakened by its handling of racism.