A review by amyh729
Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler

5.0

I loved this book about a woman who walks away from her family while on a family vacation. I happened to read it while on a family vacation which became the running joke. Every time I would get a bit ahead of my kids while we were walking they would say, "she's making a run for it'! Anyway, Anne Tyler is a master of capturing all the complications of real family life. I especially loved this passage:

Didn't it often happen, she thought, that aged parents die exactly at the moment when other people (your husband, your adolescent children) have stopped being thrilled to see you coming? But a parent is always thrilled, always dwells so lovingly on your face as you are speaking. One of life's many ironies.

Beautiful.