Ursula Hegi is an author with a special touch; her ability to set a mood and develop characters is exceptional. THE WORST THING I'VE DONE shows these talents very well.
Annie, Jake, and Mason grew up together and had developed a special bond. It was taken for granted that Annie would marry one of the boys. The day that Annie and Mason marry, Annie’s parents are in a car accident. Her father is killed instantly, and her mother lives long enough to give birth to a daughter, Opal.
Annie and Mason decide to raise Opal with Jake being an extra father to the infant girl. Annie struggles with being a sister and a mother to Opal, a wife to Mason, a friend to Jake, and to develop the artistic talent that is important to her.
When we first meet Annie, she is spending her time driving aimlessly in her car, eating junk food and listening to advice programs on the radio. She has not come to terms with Mason’s recent death and she keeps hearing his voice making his own comments to the people asking for advice on the radio shows.
As Annie remembers the life she had shared with the people around her, we get more and more insight into the relationship that the three friends shared. Little things from the past come back to her, giving her a better understanding of the people she loves.
Watching Annie put all the pieces of her life together, gives us a story of friendship, love, marriage, and motherhood. In a book that is perfectly plotted, Hegi shows us how sorrow and joy can be closely connected and how both help us to grow.
If you are fortunate to have read Ms Hegi’s Stones From The River, you know what a talent she is.
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