Synopses & Reviews
Newly selected Great Michigan Read 2013-14 and a Michigan Notable Book for 2010One of the Washington Post Book World's "Best Books of 2009," Memoir
Beth Luxenberg was an only child. Or so everyone thought. Six months after Beth's death, her secret emerged. It had a name: Annie.
Praise for Annie's Ghosts
"Annie's Ghosts is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read . . . From mental institutions to the Holocaust, from mothers and fathers to children and childhood, with its mysteries, sadness, and joy--this book is one emotional ride."
--Bob Woodward, author of The War Within and State of Denial
"Steve Luxenberg sleuths his family's hidden history with the skills of an investigative reporter, the instincts of a mystery writer, and the sympathy of a loving son. His rediscovery of one lost woman illuminates the shocking fate of thousands of Americans who disappeared just a generation ago."
--Tony Horwitz, author of A Voyage Long and Strange and Confederates in the Attic
"I started reading within minutes of picking up this book, and was instantly mesmerized. It's a riveting detective story, a moving family saga, an enlightening if heartbreaking chapter in the history of America's treatment of people born with what we now call special needs."
--Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand and You're Wearing That
"This is a memoir that pushes the journalistic envelope . . . Luxenberg has written a fascinating personal story as well as a report on our communal response to the mentally ill."
--Helen Epstein, author of Where She Came From and Children of the Holocaust
"A wise, affecting new memoir of family secrets and posthumous absolution."
--The Washington Post
"Annie's Ghosts will resonate for many, whether the chords have to do with family secrets, the Depression, memories of a thriving Detroit, the Holocaust's horrors, or the immigrant experience."
--The Detroit Free Press
Review
"Annie's Ghosts, his wise, affecting new mamoir of family secrets and posthumous absolution. . . . Beth told her son often that she loved him. Annie's Ghosts is his elegy in return, a poignant investigative exercise, full of empathy and sorrowful truth."--The Washington Post
Review
"Steve Luxenberg sleuths his family's hidden history with the skills of an investigative reporter, the instincts of a mystery writer, and the sympathy of a loving son. His rediscovery of one lost woman illuminates the shocking fate of thousands of Americans who disappeared just a generation ago."--Tony Horwitz, author of Confederates in the Attic
Review
"
Annie's Ghosts will resonate for many, whether the chords have to do with family secrets, the Depression, memories of a thriving Detroit, Holocausts horrors, or the immigrant experience.
"For me, the word to describe this book: Unforgettable."--Detroit Free Press
Review
"Annie's Ghosts is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read . . . From mental institutions to the Holocaust, from mothers and fathers to children and childhood, with its mysteries, sadness, and joy--this book is one emotional ride."--Bob Woodward, author of The War Within and State of Denial
Review
"I started reading within minutes of picking up this book, and was instantly mesmerized. It's a riveting detective story, a moving family saga, an enlightening if heartbreaking chapter in the history of America's treatment of people born with what we now call special needs."--Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand and You're Wearing That?
Review
"This is a memoir that pushes the journalistic envelope . . . Luxenberg has written a fascinating personal story as well as a report on our communal response to the mentally ill."--Helen Epstein, author of Where She Came From and Children of the Holocaust
Synopsis
Beth Luxenberg was an only child. Everyone knew it: Her grown children, her friends, even people she'd only just met. So when Steve Luxenberg's sister called him to ask, Did you know Mom had a sister?, he was bewildered. A sister? Luxenberg was certain that his mother was an only child, just as he knew that her name was Beth and that she had raised her children to, above all else, tell the truth. By then Beth was nearly 80 and in fragile health; while seeing a new doctor, she had mentioned a disabled sister, sent away at age two. But why? Was she retarded? Mentally ill? Was she still alive? The questions were dizzying, but the answers out of reach: Beth had said she didn't know what had happened to her sister. Beth died in 1999, her secret intact. Six months later, it surfaced once more, uninvited and unforeseen. This time, though, the secret had a name: Annie. Steve Luxenberg began to dig. And as he dug, he uncovered more and more, both puzzling and shocking: His mother's name wasn't Beth, and his aunt hadn't been sent away when she was two. Annie was hospitalized when she was 21, and her older sister, 23. The sisters had grown up together. Annie spent the rest of her life in a mental institution, while Luxenberg's mother set out to erase her sister's existence. Employing his skills as a journalist while struggling to maintain his empathy as a son, Luxenberg pieces together the story of his mother's motivations, his aunt's life, and the time in which they lived. Combining the power of reportage with the intrigue of mystery, Annie's Ghosts explores the nature of self-deception and self-preservation. The result is equal parts memoir, social history, and riveting detective story.
Synopsis
Combining the power of reportage with the intrigue of mystery, "Annie's Ghosts" explores the nature of self-deception and self-preservation. The result is equal parts memoir and riveting detective story as one son seeks to uncover family secrets.
Synopsis
Newly selected Great Michigan Read 2013-14 and a Michigan Notable Book for 2010
One of the Washington Post Book World's "Best Books of 2009," Memoir
Beth Luxenberg was an only child. Or so everyone thought. Six months after Beth's death, her secret emerged. It had a name: Annie.
About the Author
Steve Luxenberg has been a senior editor with the Washington Post for 20 years. He lives in Baltimore, MD. This is his first book.