In 2008 Kevin′s estranged father died of an aneurysm. When he returned
home to Kennewick, Washington for the funeral, Kevin′s mother revealed
to him disturbing threads in their family history -- stories of incest,
madness, betrayal, and death -- which retroactively colored Kevin′s
memories of his upbringing and youth. He learned of his mother′s first
two husbands, the fathers of his three older, mythologized
half-siblings, and the havoc they wreaked on his mother. He learned of
his own father′s seething resentment of his step-children, which was
expressed in physical, pyschological, and sexual abuse. And he learned
more about his oldest step-sister, Elinda, who, as a young girl, was
labeled "feebleminded" by a teacher. When she became a teenager, she
was sent to a psychiatric hospital. She entered the clinic at 98
pounds. She left two years later 200 pounds, diabetic, having endured
numerous shock treatments. Then, after finally returning home, she was
made pregnant by Kevin′s father. Only at the end of the book do we
learn what chance in life a person like this has.