The Cleveland Rutters

Meredith Ann Rutter's retrospection-slash-memoir covers the years from 1916 to 2008. The timespan takes readers from the early years of her grandparents unions through the death of her mother in 1964 and the death of her father in 2008. In addition to the family chronicle, the author delves into her own experience of her mother's struggle with depression and death from cirrhosis of the liver, blamed on alcoholism, and of her father's efforts to keep the family whole. After her father's death another lifetime later, she tackles her deferred grief for her mother. This book will be enjoyed by readers interested in family tales, life in the twentieth century, parental loss, and divided loyalties.