Elephant in the Sky
A Novel
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3.7 • 6 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A testament to the healing power of unconditional love.
Widely acclaimed for her emotionally powerful stories that capture the real lives of women, Heather A. Clark, bestselling author of Chai Tea Sunday, tackles the subject of childhood mental illness and the impact it has on a close family.
The story begins from nine-year-old Nate’s point of view, etching the details of an unbalanced mind struggling to make sense of rampant thought patterns and heightened paranoia. Enter Ashley, Nate's mother, and a hardworking advertising executive concerned that she’s not giving her family enough of her time — especially now that she senses something might be wrong with her son. As the story moves deftly back and forth between the two perspectives, the narrative converges to reveal one family's journey of discovery as they strive to find balance in their lives.
Based on a true story, Elephant in the Sky articulates a complicated, real-life subject with grace, wisdom and sensitivity, and beautifully explores the distance a mother will go to protect her child.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ashley Carter seems to have it all, a loving husband, two children, a big house, and a job she loves, but her world is turned upside down when her nine-year-old son Nate begins to act strangely. Following Clark's successful debut novel Chai Tea Sunday, her second novel is a magnificent story about mental illness and the unwavering love of a mother for her son. The book delves into the effects and impact of bipolar disorder on those affected as well their family members by splitting the narration between Nate and Ashley. The effect is to bring readers into a close-up experience of both Nate's episodes of fear and delusion and a mother's pain as she tries to help her son through something she doesn't understand. Clark's brutally honest narrative follows their journey through Nate's psychosis: pre-diagnosis, hospitalization, and post-diagnosis. Clark expertly presents Ashley as someone who fears and lacks understanding of mental illness but who, with guidance, learns to accept what she cannot change and begins to deal positively with the situation. The result is a story about love, strength and the struggles those with mental illness and their loved ones face in a society in which many stigmas about mental illness persist.
