by Jodene Wylie
Opening Line:
“When I first saw her, though she was across a field and barely a speck on the horizon, sure I knew she was one of my kind.”
~ Mary
So begins this historical fiction tale set in Northern Ontario and Manitoba at the turn of the 20th century. If Tenderness Be Gold, written by Eleanor Albanese and published by Latitude 46 Publishing, is a compelling story of Mary’s pregnancy and birth with her friend Fiorella and midwife Mrs. Watts at her side. The story journeys into the future to her grown son’s life, the Great War, his marriage, and his own family with reflections, memories, and discoveries of how his world is forever connected back to that time, that birth, all those years before.
If Tenderness Be Gold is complete with nods to poetry and at time makes reference to myth and superstitions as was more commonly accepted at this time. The story itself is unravelled through the perspectives of multiple characters shaping and reshaping the perceptions of time and experience. With slow, deliberate, moves into the future the truth of that birth scene and the ripple effects it has on the lives of Mary’s family becomes known and ends in a surprising and unexpected connection.
Strong description of setting, place, and time make the story feel almost tactile - as though your own hands could reach out and feel the surfaces of tables, cloth, and grass. This is paired with the spoken language of characters reflecting broken English or phrases, terminology, and sentences in Italian, Scottish, and Irish.
This story is as much a reflection on family as it is on the process of grieving. Some characters are weighed down in their heart break, others seek answers in a bottle, others are desperate for understanding and information to explain why life has gone the route it has. This story pulls at your emotions urging you to find your own understanding in it’s pages.
Eleanor Albanese has displayed a special story of family and the generations that follow alongside a time and setting more raw and rugged as is best for a story such as this.
Visit Latitude 46 Publishing to learn how to acquire a copy of this book!