In Dark Water

Mermer Blakeslee's IN DARK WATER presents us with a story that cannot help but move us emotionally. Her young heroine, Eudora Buell, is full of spirit, imagination and wonder -- she is immediately likeable, drawing the reader readily into her world and her story.Dorrie has a great need -- as all children have -- to be loved, to feel a part of her family. When her older brother David, who seems to be the focus of much of her family's love, is killed in a motorcycle accident, the walls come tumbling down. Her mother is the first to succumb to the depression that covers all of them -- in very different ways -- like a blanket. Dorrie fights for her rightful share of love and attention for a while, then, seeing that she's waging a losing battle with her increasingly non-present mother's emotions, she takes off on a quest to find it.Her journey takes her a short distance, just a few miles away to refuge among the eccentric members of the Tappen family. Different they may be, but among them she finds nurturing, unconditional love -- and she begins to thrive again. Through a series of events and misunderstandings, she finds even this rug yanked out from under her, and despite all of her struggles, she, too, finds herself a victim of depression.Her climb back into her true self, and the forces that draw her again and again to her mother -- whose own depression shattered Dorrie's tenuous grip on emotional health and forced her to flee her own home -- make for a strong, compelling story that is so very relevant to our times, when people everywhere in our society are struggling with many of these same issues.As moving and well-written as the story is, what makes it hold us even more by our hearts and souls is the fact that Blakelee's characters are so well-drawn and accurately voiced -- they are some of the most believable human beings I've run across in literature. Their emotions and thoughts are brought to life in such a way that the shifts in point-of-view are very easy and natural for the reader to follow.IN DARK WATER gives us a thoughtful and insightful look at the effects of depression on both individuals and on a family -- and it conveys that through the darkest hours there is hope to be found in the love of a family, of people who care from deep within, who feel the bonds that are not always easy to see with the eyes.

I love every word mermer b writes. she has that world down so well, its in her beautiful blood. her sentences are..well..i adore them. She understands color, dirt, heart, life, sky, death, blood, gripping emotion and pain and love. I love her and it.

A beautifully written book. Riviting from the first page

In Dark Water is one of the most effective books I've read all year. I work for a publishing company, and read many books. For one book to stand out in my mind, to haunt me long after I've read it, thrills me. The writing is unique, the voice is real. The story has contiuned to stay with me, as it reoccurs in my mind often. I LOVED In Dark Water, and am thrilled to have the chance to pass it along to other book lovers.

Blakeslee has a most wonderful way of writing. Her story is intriguing, happy and heartbreaking all at the same time. The imagery that her words produced was infectious; I wanted and still crave more.