One Of Us by Tawni O'dell

Tawni O'dell's One Of Us is a Psychological drama. The story takes place in a community of miners. Danny Doyle and the lives of other characters led me to see it's possible to survive the hard knocks of abuse and ugliness. Danny's work is in Philadelphia. The circumstances in the lives of people he know will lead him to  face ghosts from the past. In this instance, Danny is called back to Lost Creek because his Grandfather Tommy is very ill. Danny heads back. His journey will lead to the unfolding of many manipulated lives.

These past stories are a show of darkness and light or death and resurrection. After many frightening, faltering, shocking steps through the novel, One Of Us,  I pondered the fact that maybe a "real" death can be a resurrection for some people. I really was moved by the quote at the end of the novel, "Watching the two of them I suddenly understand that a man's life story is written before it even begins, all of his choices made for him by a history he's helpless against yet he believes is of his own making."  The pasts that we are born into lead to the paths we must walk. Our choice is which fork of the road to choose. No matter, the fork we choose has already been made in the road. All we can do is walk it and watch the future roll out before us. I think the quote will stick with me for quite awhile. I am still thinking about it. Is the quote true or false in real life?


Yes, I shivered  while reading the book, but those anxious moments had to take place. So that I could look deeper into the minds of the people in a small mining town. The psyche of the people who made Molly and Scarlet and Carson Shupe what they became in life or in death. No wonder Danny Doyle chose to become a Forensic Psychologist.

Of course, there is Wade. I didn't like the little guy. Didn't see what Rafe saw in him on his little skateboard. I thought he was tacky. Velma seemed kind of tacky too or one dimensional. Perhaps, I was too caught up in  Anna's life who worked for Walker Dawes and his wife, Gwen, and ten year old Scarlet as a nanny, and a cousin's life  and the lives of The Nellies to catch a look at the other side of the town. For me, it's a novel to hash and rehash and hash again. The road is  long  and it's wrapped around a complicated family tree with branches of revenge and vengeance. In my mind, I'm still in Lost Creek looking for a way out,  a place where I can breathe fresh air and catch a whiff of freedom.  tawniodell.com/