Heirlooms, the newest release by prolific author Sandra Byrd, is a moving story is about love and loss, secrets and forgiveness, motherhood and found family, and leaving a legacy for future generations. It's told in dual timelines - one featuring young widows Helen and Eunhee in the early 1960s and the second focusing on their granddaughters Cassidy and Grace in current time. Both are set on Whidbey Island, Washington; there's something special about a story that happens in a place one step removed from the rest of the world.
This novel was deeply meaningful to me because individuals with Down Syndrome connect both storylines. I'm the proud aunt of Layton, a fantastic young man who has Down Syndrome, and the first 18 years of my career I was employed by a non-profit organization that supports individuals with intellectual disabilities. While this aspect of the historic storyline was upsetting to read, reality was even harsher as explained in the author's note.
I felt so connected to the story as several things were flashbacks to my own childhood, including the multi-party telephone line, using a Betty Crocker red plaid cookbook, and singing the Johnny Appleseed meal grace. Yet other aspects were windows into Korean culture, such as a 100 Day celebration and Rose of Sharon symbolism.
Rather than flip between decades every chapter, readers get to spend extended time with one set of characters before transitioning to the other, which enabled me to feel very grounded in both time periods. My only criticism of the novel is that sometimes the dialog felt overly formal and unnatural.
Thank you to Tyndale House and NetGalley for the review copy of this novel. I voluntarily provided this review and all opinions are my own.
This novel was deeply meaningful to me because individuals with Down Syndrome connect both storylines. I'm the proud aunt of Layton, a fantastic young man who has Down Syndrome, and the first 18 years of my career I was employed by a non-profit organization that supports individuals with intellectual disabilities. While this aspect of the historic storyline was upsetting to read, reality was even harsher as explained in the author's note.
I felt so connected to the story as several things were flashbacks to my own childhood, including the multi-party telephone line, using a Betty Crocker red plaid cookbook, and singing the Johnny Appleseed meal grace. Yet other aspects were windows into Korean culture, such as a 100 Day celebration and Rose of Sharon symbolism.
Rather than flip between decades every chapter, readers get to spend extended time with one set of characters before transitioning to the other, which enabled me to feel very grounded in both time periods. My only criticism of the novel is that sometimes the dialog felt overly formal and unnatural.
Thank you to Tyndale House and NetGalley for the review copy of this novel. I voluntarily provided this review and all opinions are my own.
