The Forgotten Roses
Deborah Doucette, 2014
Owl Canyon Press
250 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780991121106
Summary
Rebecca Griffin has everything she could ever want—or so says her big-hearted, opinionated Italian-American family. But now her marriage is unraveling and her teenage daughter is hurtling toward a self-destructive calamity.
While Rebecca struggles to hang onto her husband and save her daughter, she learns of the mysterious death of a young The woman long ago at a local prison. As Rebecca’s mother, Eva, reveals their family’s connection to the girl, Rebecca is drawn into the story—it haunts her. A search for answers takes Rebecca from her small idyllic New England town, to the congested streets of East Boston and the tight-knit Italian neighborhood where many of her family still resides.
As she tries to uncover the facts of the young girl’s life and violent death, the puzzle pieces in Rebecca’s own life begin to take shape and she faces the difficult truth about her husband, Drew. Rebecca, her troubled daughter, Dana, and an enigmatic figure from the past unknowingly embark on a collision course one desperate autumn night when the answers they seek come to light in the most forgotten of places from the most innocent of messengers. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—September 30, 1948
• Raised—Newton and Nadick, Massachusetts, USA
• Education—N/A
• Currently—lives in Sherborn, Massachusetts
Deborah Doucette began her writing career as a free-lance journalist subsequently writing the non-fiction book Raising Our Children’s Children: Room In The Heart, slated for second edition release in July, 2014. Her novel, The Forgotten Roses, is about the choices women face, the pull of family, a mystery and a little magic. She is a blogger for the Huffington Post, an artist, and mother of four.
Deborah lives in a small town west of Boston with her red standard poodle Fiamma (Italian for flame) enjoying the comings and goings of her twin grandchildren, and working on a new novel. (From the author.)
Visit the publisher's website.
Follow Deborah on Facebook
Book Reviews
The Forgotten Roses finds a way to be both harrowing and humorous. Doucette weaves a dark tale (laced with deftly comedic underpinnings) in a New England town rife with rumor, mystery, and murder all under a thin veil of magic. This clever, multi-layered, multi-generational book has a warm local flavor made hot with Italian-American spice...Doucette knows her characters intimately and what she describes—from gardens to grandmothers - and marriage to mayhem feels genuine and oddly familiar. Doucette paints portraits of characters which make them come alive as we read, makes us feel we know them. Let Doucette capture and pull you in with her words, so that she can frighten, amuse and mystify you with her droll inner dialog, excellent descriptive capacity and wise-cracking mind. A mystery. A Treat. A great read.
C. Anthony Martignette, Author, Lunatic Heroes and Beloved Demons
The Forgotten Roses is a mesmerizing story that pulls readers into the lives of thre women drawn together by a young woman's mysterious and tragic death. Deborah Doucette's novel is beautifully written with characters that are rich, complex and memorable. A spell-binding novel.
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Barbara Walsh, Author of August Gale: A Father and Daughter's Journey Into the Storm
In The Forgotten Roses, Deborah Doucette spins a harrowing tale of three women and their shared journey into an entangled and deeply disturbing past. Doucette is a fresh new voice, and her lush, lyrical prose stays with you long after you've read the last line.
Kim Triedman, Author of The Other Room and Plum(b)
Discussion Questions
1. At the outset, the protagonist, Rebecca Griffin, seems stuck and unsettled. What is the turning point that begins to push her forward
2. Rebecca’s family and culture has had an enormous influence on the her, in both good ways and bad. Her upbringing had essentially created a blueprint for living. What are the ways in which they have held her back, and the ways in which they have strengthened her.
3. What are the parallels among the journeys of each of the main characters—Rebecca, Dana and Serena.
4. How have Rebecca’s past choices affected her children’s choices and behavior? And what legacy does she leave them in the end?
5. How does this quote from The Forgotten Roses resonate with you in your own life: “We unwittingly fashion our futures from the patterns of our past.”
6. In this day and age, is there a clear difference between a “good girl” and a “bad girl” or are the lines “blurred” as the pop song suggests? Are there good girls and bad girls in the story?
7. One of the elements in the story is the historical and systematic attempt to manipulate the “moral reform” of girls and women in society. (Although not mentioned by name in the book, the Magdalene Asylums are a good example of that). Was it a shock to learn that not long ago a young woman could be incarcerated for “shaming her family?” Do you feel that inequities in the justice system exist today for women?
8. In the end, there were no definitive answers regarding Deitzhoff’ and the goings on at the log cabin. The characters had to make choices without the benefit of the clear-cut information they sought. Was this lack of neatly tied-up loose-ends troubling, or merely a fact of life?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)