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Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret by Steven Luxenberg (Hyperion, 416pp, ISBN 9781401322472) is not your everyday family memoir. This poignant, memorable book will live in your thoughts long after it’s been returned to your book shelf. Annie’s Ghosts is a striking combination of family secrets, mental health issues in the forties and the entanglements of love, past and present.
The most astounding thing about Annie’s Ghosts? It’s true. The book begins after Steve’s mother’s death with a revelation of an aunt that neither Steve nor his siblings have ever heard of. In fact, his mother Beth had always taken great pains to tell newcomers to her immediate circle that she was an only child. Everyone who knew Beth knew she was, including her children. The reality was that Beth wasn’t.