Set in the bucolic, yet brutal South of his youth, My Mother’sHouse is a memoir by novelist David Armand. It recounts theyoung author’s early memories of being born to a schizophrenicmother, then given up for adoption, only to be raised in ahome with an alcoholic and abusive step-father. In this sharply remembered portrait of the people and places that shapedhim, Armand paints his seemingly negative experiences witha sympathetic and understanding brush. As the reader followsArmand through his childhood and later into adult life—whenhe is reunited with his mother after she makes a failed suicideattempt—a surprisingly new world of hope and possibility isrendered, despite the overwhelming challenges of this reunion.