We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
Fiction

Narrator Rosemary Cooke begins her coming of age story in the middle, when she is a college student jailed for acting out on rebellious impulses. Rosemary is normally a silent young woman mourning her damaged family: a cherished older brother Lowell on the run from the law; a distant father; a withdrawn mother and her beloved missing sister, Fern. The tragedy at the heart of Rosemary’s story is slowly revealed: why Lowell ran and the reason the FBI is looking for him; what caused Rosemary herself to run away at age five; and what exactly happened to Fern. For the full impact of the story, avoid reading spoilers, including the back cover of the book. A moving story of familial love and loss that examines the bonds of sisterhood.