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CLEAVED: A story of loss, legs and finding family
CLEAVED is the story of Jane and her sister Julie, foot soldiers in the family war, growing up under the same roof, each cleaved to a different parent from birth. Jane is Mum's and Julie is Dad's.
The situation is normal, even if Jane's not.
"Just tell them you were born that way," her mother says when the kids at school taunt her about her "big leg", as her mother calls it.
There's no name and no cure for the mysterious swelling that means Jane's right leg is a perfectly proportioned bigger version of her left, so it's ignored, subsumed by bigger family problems.
The emotional cleaving is made physical when their parents finally separate - until a shocking discovery blows Jane and her mother away from the rest of the family.
Jane's leg is later diagnosed as Milroy's disease, a rare genetic form of the incurable and progressive swelling disease lymphoedema.
Written with compassion and humour, CLEAVED is a tale of resilience, and of tender and fraught reunions and partings, until Jane finally puts the pieces of the family puzzle together, examining everyone's part in the tragedy, including her own.
Illuminating and moving, CLEAVED is the story of two sisters who lost and then found each other.
The situation is normal, even if Jane's not.
"Just tell them you were born that way," her mother says when the kids at school taunt her about her "big leg", as her mother calls it.
There's no name and no cure for the mysterious swelling that means Jane's right leg is a perfectly proportioned bigger version of her left, so it's ignored, subsumed by bigger family problems.
The emotional cleaving is made physical when their parents finally separate - until a shocking discovery blows Jane and her mother away from the rest of the family.
Jane's leg is later diagnosed as Milroy's disease, a rare genetic form of the incurable and progressive swelling disease lymphoedema.
Written with compassion and humour, CLEAVED is a tale of resilience, and of tender and fraught reunions and partings, until Jane finally puts the pieces of the family puzzle together, examining everyone's part in the tragedy, including her own.
Illuminating and moving, CLEAVED is the story of two sisters who lost and then found each other.
Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2024
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 18, 2024
'Cleaved' by Jane Cafarella is a compelling story told with courage and compassion. The author shares, “I once read that in ancient times, amputated limbs were buried so the owner and the limb could be reunited in the afterlife. Our family is like those limbs, buried, but still not whole.”
This memoir is a heart-rendering account of two sisters, separated by their parents’ divisive ways and robbed of the opportunity to grow together as sisters. It’s about betrayal, resilience and forgiveness.
Amidst the family dramas, the author tells of growing up with a rare form of congenital lymphoedema, a condition that was mostly ignored, leaving her to deal with bullying, pain and the emotions of having an abnormal leg.
Cafarella’s masterful style drew me in. I became part of the journey and prayed for a positive outcome. This is a book I couldn’t put down.
This memoir is a heart-rendering account of two sisters, separated by their parents’ divisive ways and robbed of the opportunity to grow together as sisters. It’s about betrayal, resilience and forgiveness.
Amidst the family dramas, the author tells of growing up with a rare form of congenital lymphoedema, a condition that was mostly ignored, leaving her to deal with bullying, pain and the emotions of having an abnormal leg.
Cafarella’s masterful style drew me in. I became part of the journey and prayed for a positive outcome. This is a book I couldn’t put down.
Displaying 1 of 1 review