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Reviewed by Alma Boucher for Readers' Favorite
The Weight We Carry by Christina Consolino is about Marissa’s parents experiencing a health crisis. Marissa is naturally helpful and puts others before herself to do the right thing. Marissa has dedicated her life as a nurse practitioner and daughter to caring for her parents’ well-being. Frank, Marissa's father, had a fall and has problems using his legs. Frank refuses to stay in rehab, and Marissa and her brothers take him home. Frank needs someone to take care of him so Marissa temporarily moves in with her parents. Marissa's mother, Angie, is struggling with her memory and keeping it together but refuses to talk about it. Marissa finds herself under increasing pressure, and her mother's memory problems could be a serious problem.
Christina Consolino skillfully captures the hard and upsetting realities of dealing with aging, failing parents in The Weight We Carry. The story was an easy read, and I could not put it down. The chapters dedicated to “Her” were so sad that I could not stop crying after reading them. I loved the sympathetic, imperfect, and battling characters and felt I was part of the family. The humor lightened the darker mood of the deterioration of the parents' health. The family’s story was brilliantly portrayed, and I was intrigued by the different viewpoints of each character and how the difficulties of elderly family members affected them all. The story serves as a reminder that families can still find opportunities for growth amid hardships.
