Rose is divorced, fifty, and estranged from her daughter. At a student art opening on a rainy March evening she meets Morrison, a genial hoarder and womb-twin survivor, who leads us to Abbey, a dancer who is losing the chance to become a mother, who leads us to Iris, a bright ten-year-old doing her best to handle her family breaking apart.
When her daughter vanishes completely, Rose seeks out her old friend Mab, the cheerful keeper of little bad signs. Following her only clue, a postcard bearing just a signature and a photo of a pristine lake, Rose chases after her daughter and her past mistakes. A ghost on the shore of Maxhamish Lake may hold the key to the true mystery, one unknown even to Rose, buried deep in the heart.
The Signs of No is a story of guilt and grief, of finding one’s footing in middle life, and of discovery and reinvention. It traces the spiderweb cracks of invisible loss, common and uncommon, the losses that go without memorial or acknowledgment. It is a story about women, about motherhood, and the ways middle-aged women are underestimated, even by themselves.
Authors
- Pages
- 348
- Published in
- Calgary, CA
- Series
- Brave & Brilliant
Table of Contents
- Front Cover 1
- Half Title Page 2
- Full Title Page 4
- Copyright Page 5
- Epigraph 6
- Dedication 8
- The Time Before 10
- I | SIGNS 12
- Rose 14
- Abbey 62
- Rose 67
- Morrison 77
- Morrison 79
- II | MEETINGS 86
- Morrison 88
- Abbey 91
- Rose 95
- Mab 100
- Rose 104
- Morrison 112
- Abbey 114
- Iris 120
- The Time Between 123
- Rose 124
- Mab 130
- Morrison 134
- Rose 138
- Abbey 140
- Parker 144
- Abbey and Iris 145
- Parker 148
- Iris 150
- Parker 153
- Dave 155
- Rose 158
- Seeing Red 167
- Abbey 175
- Morrison 180
- III | THE EYE OF GONE 182
- Rose 184
- Morrison 193
- Rose 196
- Morrison 198
- Rose 200
- IV | DEPARTURES 202
- Rose 204
- Abbey 219
- Mab 224
- V | LIFE 230
- Rose 232
- Abbey 236
- Parker 238
- Rose 240
- Rose 246
- Abbey 249
- Morrison 253
- Rose 256
- Abbey 259
- Dave 261
- Byrd 269
- Morrison 275
- Stella 277
- Abbey 279
- Rose 285
- Abbey 288
- Mab 291
- Byrd 293
- Iris 294
- Rose 298
- Abbey 303
- Dave 306
- Rose 310
- Parker 313
- Rose 316
- Parker 320
- Morrison 325
- Parker 336
- Rose 338
- Parker 341
- Iris 342
- Morrison 343
- Rose 345
- Abbey 349
- Rose 351
- Byrd 356
- Dave 359
- Rose 361
- Iris and Dave 371
- Mercy 373
- Acknowledgments 380
- Biography 382
- Series Page 383
- Back Cover 384