Ask Again, Yes - Mary Beth Keane
It took me ages to read this book, which I first put down to being all scattered and unable to concentrate due to the pandemic. But after reflection I think it just deserves to be read slowly as it gives the reader time to absorb the story. Spanning over 40 years, Ask Again, Yes, tells the story of several generations, of two families brought together despite everything that happens to them and between them. Each of the families is as unremarkable, unique, and as normal, and abnormal, as any other family, each one containing its own hopes, fears, memories, and secrets. It could be your story, or my story, anyone’s story really.
Brian and Francis meet as rookie NYC cops, and a few years later they end up living next door to each other in small town Gillam, NY. The families aren’t close; Brian’s wife Anne refuses to talk to anyone, and Lena, Francis’ wife, gave up trying early on. But their kids. Peter and Kate, are best friends from birth. When tragedy strikes, both families are blown apart, but end up being brought back together in ways that nobody would have imagined.
Ask Again, Yes deals with difficult topics such as abuse, mental illness, addiction, and generational trauma, and how all of these can affect any family. I related to so many parts of this book, my own parents, myself, my childhood… And it wasn’t always easy to read. Mary Beth Keane did such a great job making the characters so real, so heartbreakingly real. I won’t be forgetting this story any time soon.