Josephine and Douglas Hurst and their three children, Rose, Violet and Will, are the family around which this story revolves. Rose has run away with a boyfriend, Damien, but no other family member has ever met him. Violet spends an afternoon with some friends and comes home to the family dinner high on seeds. A confrontation occurs involving her mother and Will, which Violet will not remember the details of for some time, but which results in her mother having her committed to a psychiatric facility. Violet petitions successfully for her discharge after a brief stay.
Two of the other patients in the facility, Edie and Corinna, befriend Violet and provide some of the best "sane" conversations in the book, especially Edie, who remains friends with Violet after they are discharged. Edie tells Violet at one point "Having a baby doesn't make you a mother any more than buying a piano makes you (expletive) Beethoven." Violet herself comes to the realization that "dangerous people try to keep you off-balance and constantly questioning yourself" and is able to start confronting her mother and finding out some secrets along the way.
And, let's not forget the son, Will. He may or may not have epilepsy, he may or may not have Aspergers's. What is a fact is that he has been removed from public school and is being "homeschooled" by Josephine.
The mother, Josephine, is something else. Reading this book is like riding a roller coaster. Saying too much about the story will give too much of the plot of the plot away. Violet is lucky to get out of the whole story alive and healthy and with a good chance at a "normal" future. I highly recommend this book.
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