The Gifts We Keep

by Katie Grindeland

In The Gifts We Keep , dangerous secrets, past tragedies, and a violent obsession are forced to the surface when Emerson and her estranged family agree to care for a ten-year-old Native-Alaskan girl and complete stranger, Addie, in the wake of Addie's single mother attempting suicide. Emerson has buried her emotions since her husband's suicide a decade past, maintaining a cold and aloof exterior. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Tillie, avoids her own questions about the accident which left her in a wheelchair. Their mother, Eve, flits through life as though nothing is important. And the handsome neighbor, Henry, maintains a carefree attitude while guilt and secrets eat away at him. If these five can face their true selves, each other, and their past, they just might find a way forward to a life filled with love and happiness.

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 16, 2019

Reviews

[Nila (digitalcreativepages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secrets can wrap a family and bind them in silence or tear them apart where pretense of being okay would be the norm. It takes a child sometimes to see the truth by seeing the pain via her eyes.

Addie was brought into this family while her mother was in hospital where there was widowed Emerson whose husband Will had committed suicide, sister Tillie with legs paralysed in an accident where Emerson was driving the car, mother Evie with her health problems, and neighbor Henry who was friends with all but had the biggest secret hidden m about Will's suicide. All the 4 had their lives interlinked, and it took this child Addie's entry as a catalyst to open them up.

My first book by Katie Grindeland, all I could say was that it was a sweet read. The story moved slowly delving ito each character's life and their thoughts. The secrets come out gradually bringing them closer together with each knot unravelled.

The scenes in the book were brought out with careful detailing keeping in line with the characters, some of the lines were poignant. The mystery was kept till the end. Family bonding between the women had me smiling with Henry the odd man out, yet fitting into the paradigm perfectly.

My niggles had me running through the pages fast, the story, though good, was not very engaging to read. I found it difficult to immerse myself into their lives to feel their emotions. Such a story should have had power behind their words, which was missing for me.

Overall, a good read about family and what binds us together - LOVE

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can tell that the author loves the characters she has created; each one of them is fully realized, and despite their messy emotional lives they are the kind of people you wish you knew. They are all grown ups harboring past hurts, each of them a piece of a complicated puzzle. It all seems impenetrable until Addie, a Native girl from Alaska with troubles of her own arrives in their midst. Her clarity spurs the messed up adults around her to reexamine their lives.
Set against a backdrop that feels quintessentially Oregonian, this is a beautifully written story, that had me highlighting many passages. I can't wait to see what the author writes next!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a sneak attack of a book. Seems completely rote and predictable until it’s completely not and you’re sobbing through the last fifty pages. Reminds me that you don’t need transcendent writing to tell a meaningful story.

[Ned Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gifts We Keep by Katie Grindeland is a beautifully written book that weaves together a complex multi-voiced story that brings together voices of different generations into a complex quilted narrative of family separation, heartbreak and loss, along with redemption and reconciliation. A powerful and important book that will open your eyes and your heart. The novel bears in its bones echoes of the best of Alice Hoffman and Anne Tyler.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthy book to read. Found on the "new " shelf of the local library. A good story about moving past heartaches and re-connecting with family.

[Hannah B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Why in God’s name do we go through the work of loving each other?”

'The Gifts We Keep' by Katie Grindeland is a book full of love in every form—Old, new, unrequited, forbidden, familial, and unexpected. I have always been a fan of love especially written developments and declarations. This books explores how love looks in a family who appears broken on the outside, but are in the process of healing, even if they don’t realize it. Ten-year-old Addie fell into the orbit of Emerson, Tillie, Henry, and Eve. She finds herself within this strange family and is the spark that ignites the love within each broken heart. Love, loss, and then finding love again in another form. That is what this book is. It is learning to love the cards that have been dealt, but not so blindly that you can’t draw a few more from the deck.

“It’s hard to believe we’ve been to the same event, we feel so differently about it.”

From the beginning, we hear five different perspectives each telling their version of reality, interacting with the other characters and their lives. The multiple perspectives help the reader understand the gravity of their situations, while expertly creating the dramatic irony of the characters’ actions. With clear and poignant prose, Grindeland has crafted a sad and beautiful and happy and real novel. Rarely do I find myself desperately attached to every character in a novel, but this one was different. I think it’s because these characters are at the end, simply human. Both endearingly and frustratingly so. I found myself bookmarking quotes to read on rainy days because Grindeland has a way to make a sentence stick in your brain.

'The Gifts We Keep' reminds me a bit of E. Lockhart’s 'We Were Liars,' with the same familial aspects, secrets, and hazy events resurfacing until they are crystal clear and alarmingly close. This family lives both in the past and in the present, trying to find the best way to make it to the future intact and together, for better or for worse. This book made me smile and cry and then smile again.

“Sometimes regular people are fucking amazing to me.”

[Amanda [darjeeling_and_jade]]

The Gifts We Keep meanders through the lives of Tillie, Emerson, Henry, Eve, and Addie. They are a family both of blood and choice and one that may not be as close-knit as they could be, which lends tension throughout the novel. The novel is divided between their five points of view, which at times is difficult to follow but eventually the connections between them and their pasts is slowly revealed. Grindeland crafts this narrative between the characters that is at times messy but is always full of love.

When the novel starts, Eve, Tillie, and Emmy struggle to remain connected. As they've aged time has come between them. Though mother Eve and daughters Tillie and Emmy love each other, their complicated past--and the accident in it--makes it difficult for them to love each other unconditionally all the time. What I loved about this novel was the thawing between the three characters. This novel proves that while you may find it easy to love your family, at times it can be difficult to like them. I really enjoyed the progression of the relationships between the characters and a big reason for this change is the arrival of Addie.

Like the four adult characters, Addie is a character who is struggling to remain moored. She's been uprooted, sent to these strangers who will take care of her while her own mother learns how to take care of her own mental health. I found Addie to be a great stand in for the reader, who, like Addie, is slowly discovering just how much of their pasts this family hasn't yet dealt with. I loved how Addie not only learned about herself and the others, but she was able to teach the others new ways of seeing the world. The characters needed a jolt in their lives and Addie is exactly that.

When another tragedy strikes their family, all of these new connections are tested. The tension in The Gifts We Keep comes from that testing and there are times when it doesn't seem like this family is going to come out of it intact.

The deep family connections, the willingness of the characters to heal and grow, and the mystery of their pasts makes this perfect for readers who like family dramas and well-thought out characters. This book does not shy away from difficult topics like suicide and tragic accidents, but I found it to be written about thoughtfully.

[Nif Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gifts We Keep, by Katie Grindeland, is not just another inter-generational family drama. Neither is it just another work of literary fiction. The “fear” that readers classically connect with in popular fiction doesn’t come from the usual settings of a courtroom or even a hospital… this story is about hearts and feelings, and it is centered in lakeshore homes. This makes it more of a gentle glimpse of old Portland alongside new prosperity. The Gifts We Keep is a deft portrayal of privileged lives, and engages by shifting in viewpoint. It is well written, not just mean well-edited: crafted with evocative setting descriptions and emotions that are shown not told. If you were looking for a man’s point of view, it is here. If you were looking for a child’s point of view, it is here. However, if you were looking for insight into a matriarch’s view, you will not find it. The oldest member of this family is no matriarch but a breath of fresh air unto herself. Her portrayal of probable geriatric ADHD is refreshing and warm. Everyone has choices, yet everyone also has consequences- none of the characters are exempt. That is really the story: those choices and their consequences. A wonderful slice of this family’s life and the characters they touch. As part of the Multnomah County Library LIBRARY WRITERS PROJECT, this book circulated widely in e-book format and was popular with their patrons. However, I really enjoyed having the hard copy to bring along on a trip: on a plane on a bus on the subway with intermittent connectivity… you get the idea. The popularity of this novel also rests in its sensitive portrayal of new loves and new relationships for older people, both heterosexual and lesbian, maternal and not. Strong character development and a plot with many old secrets to be revealed made this a wonderful read.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can never go wrong with a book that leads you on a journey along with the characters and allows you to feel the broad spectrum of emotions, at least in my opinion. Katie Grindeland writes a beautifully poetic and thought-provoking novel about a family whose difficult pasts and dark secrets threaten to drive them apart. Emerson, Tillie, and Eve are forced to face their pain when a 10 yr old Native Alaskan girl named Addie comes to stay with them while her mother battles her own demons.

Intertwined with brilliantly placed foreshadowing and unexpected turns, Grindeland delves into the motives of her characters with insight, driving their development in such a way that a person familiar with the human psyche can. She structures the book around the imagery of a garden and the two daughters of their parents, Adam and Eve, growing into themselves as Emerson heals and mends the relationship with her own estranged son, Michael. Delving into her own uprooting, Emerson also begins to open her heart to love the handsome and free-spirited neighbor, Henry after the death of her husband years prior.

With Addie as the catalyst for their family, they all learn ways to heal within the pages of artistically and spiritually entwined depth and beauty. Grindeland’s writing style is one that makes readers pause to think, to breathe, to allow it all to sink into their hearts as they invest in each of her intentionally developed characters as well. This book inspired me and brought out things within me that I didn’t realize were there. As a writer myself, this book primed the pump of creativity that made me want to write my own stories and poems and make something beautiful of the deeply identifiable mess that is life.

[Andrea Cole]

This was the first book I worked with in Ooligan press, and I bought it at the launch event I was working at for the exact reason I was tasked with marketing a book I had almost no prior knowledge about: it featured tarot as a major plot element, and I was asked to man the tarot table. Being a seasoned practitioner, I was curious as to how well the art of card divination would be depicted. And not only was it depicted very accurately, there were so many other things depicted in The Gifts We Keep that I found myself connecting to: familial strife, the emotional toll of keeping secrets and being in denial about the past, the world-shaking reality of suicidal ideation and how it impacts those closest to the victims of mental illness. And these themes are delivered by characters I did not expect to identify with, but could not help doing so: Tillie, who is determined to keep living her life to the fullest in spite of her disability and the trauma that came with becoming wheelchair-bound halfway through life; Henry, a people-pleaser that hides his sorrow behind a smile; Addie, a lost child that silently observes the suffering of her new family with a background of her biological Mother's struggles with her inner demons. Watching these characters struggle with reconciling the ghosts in their past and the aftershocks in their present reality makes the message of hope at the end all the more potent: we want to imagine a better future for these characters, as much as we would for ourselves.

[Bailey Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really lovely book, filled with metaphorical elements and themes of family, tragedy, forgiveness, and rediscovering the gifts that were left behind and forgotten in the wake of life. A story is shared and told through the eyes and voices of five people connected by close family ties, and each character evokes and symbolizes an element: stone, air, earth, ice (then water), moon, and fire. The unexpected arrival of a young Native-Alaskan girl on the family’s doorstep causes estranged sisters Tillie and Emerson, their mother Eve, and close neighbor and friend Henry to face the past and put years-old secrets to rest. Each chapter is a collection of their perspectives that revolve around a theme: a secret, a discovery, a sign, and more. With the help of wise-beyond-her-years Addie, the family comes together to unearth their emotions and fears, and find the spark of courage to move on. Grindeland is one of those authors who can transport you to another world with her words, where the reader feels like the book is a dream that they are observing from above or from the corners of the room. Pain and secrets become forgiveness and treasures. Family ties, whether or not those ties are biological, are strengthened. Bonds are reforged where only severed pieces lay before. A gate that was closed long ago in pain and seclusion, reopens with a sigh of acceptance as the protagonists move on in their lives, together.

[Lynetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This former self-published work was published by the Multnomah County Library and Ooligan Press in Portland OR and is actually set in the Portland area.

It's a family saga with grandmother Eve Worthy, married to Adam, who has left her a widow, their two daughters, Mathilda (Tillie), who was in an auto accident with her older sister, Emerson (aka Emmy), which cut off Tillie's lower legs confining her to a wheelchair. Tillie is divorced, Emmy's husband, Will, committed suicide next door at Henry's house.

Emmy's son Michael, who is in Alaska and has a fishing boat, contacts Emmy that he is sending a young girl to spend some time with them. Adelaide, aka Addy, age ten, arrives just as school is ending. Her mother is ill. Addy is a solace as they all work out their traumas. There is hope that Addy is Michael's child.

The other major character is Henry, who has lived next door, who helps the Worthy family around the house and garden and is fed and included in family activities...

I enjoyed reading the resolution of the problems of this family, their guilt and accomplishments, Eve is the spunky caretaker, Emmy the over-achiever, cold and critical, Tillie the artist/ The characters are well drawn, their ups and downs and adventures were a good read.

[Alex Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie Grindeland dives into the deep recesses of the five characters' souls and spins a tale of forgiveness and love. As secrets begin bubbling to the surface, each character must confront what they have been keeping to themselves for as long as they can remember.

I love a character-driven plot. As I began reading I became immersed in the lives of each character, especially Addie, who seems to be able to feel and recognize the emotions of the adults in a way that only a child could. I was surprised that the author was able to create distinct characters that could be told apart just by their specific nuances. I think this is hard for some authors, especially when there are so many characters. But Katie Grindeland does it with ease. This book is messy and emotional and completely and utterly human. I think that's why I liked it so much. The problems and secrets that the family had are realistic in a way that is relatable, but also in a way where you want to sip a cup of coffee in their kitchen.

The novel expresses that even as adults, nobody really knows what they are doing all of the time. And we must always do the best we can with what we have. The Gifts We Keep reflects humanity—in all our beauty and pain.

[Callie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gifts We Keep is a story told from multiple perspectives: Eve, the aging, free-spirited grandmother; Emerson, the controlling older sister; Tillie, the artistic younger sister; Henry, the good-intentioned neighbor; and Addie, the young girl who is sent to stay with them from Alaska.

It's hard to succinctly say what this book is about... Relationships, trauma, healing, and chosen family are all major themes. Where the book really shines, though, is through the healing and courage shown through the personal relationships between the characters. There are multiple traumas that everyone is dealing with, but throughout the course of the narrative, they are able to show up in a way that is so beautiful to see.

Along that same line, the pacing of the book works really well. I found myself reading very quickly just to find the answers to the mysteries that Grindeland so elegantly weaves.

[Olivia Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely a slow burn, but it’s worth it. Grindeland’s characters feel like fully fleshed-out human beings, and while the family drama at the center of the book unfurls slowly (the reader learns more and more of the backstory as time goes on), there’s just enough suspense to keep the story engaging. The point of view alternates among the different characters so that you begin to feel like you know each of them intimately. I’ll admit there were a few points where I started to weary of the slow pace and the relentlessly pensive mood, but Grindeland usually found a way to pull me back in, be it with a surprising revelation or a particularly good descriptive passage. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book if you’re looking for a thoughtful, lyrical novel that gives its readers space for their own reflections on the themes of family, loss, and healing.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooligan Press and Multnomah Co Library have created a unique partnership celebrating the Portland area's local authors. They are bringing previously ebook-only works to print. The Gifts We Keep is the first of a planned annual series of Library Writers Project books to be published by Ooligan Press. Because of this, I was able to read this book in paperback.
This is the first book by this author and beautifully written. It is the kind of book for me that I want to read slowly and savor every sentence so as not to miss anything. There were wonderful characters in the book and each one had their voice in the narration of the story.
There was sadness, love, tragedy, secrets, past and present and a coming together. I highly recommend this book.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot held my interest. Early on it felt like there were too many traumas and problems, but each did have a place in the progress of changing characters and their interactions. And the changes were relatively believable.

There are five narrators, and each chapter cycles through them in the same order. They are labeled, but their perspectives are distinct enough that I could almost know who was speaking without the label. Addie, the 10-year-old, was the most pleasing, with her questions and insights. She was also the catalyst for much of the character development.

Interestingly, Emerson and Tillie have a conversation about whether people change, Emerson saying they do not. Yet Emerson seems to change the most.

A peasant read.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at a used book sale to take on vacation, expecting to leave it behind but treasured it so much, I kept it so I can share it with friends - it became "a gift we keep". This is a story comprised of several characters' perspectives and the author handles each of them sensitively and beautifully. Sometimes you were just getting to know the characters then the action would ramp up and you would be on the edge of your seat to know what was going to happen. I so enjoyed this wonderful and unique bit of contemporary literature!

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten year old Addie is the catalyst for Emerson's family to pull out of their shells. There's been much upheaval for Emerson, Tillie, and their mother Eve. Emerson's husband committed suicide and she's still got questions that Henry, the neighbor could answer if he chose. There are lies, secrets, anger, and resentment but this isn't a big showy book. It's a slow burn, with quiet pain. And hope. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. This is a rewarding read and it's good to see it reissued.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Multnomah County Library Writers Project selection by a local artist. I decided to give it a try and was not sorry that I did. It was a little difficult to get into but once I got a few chapters in, I was hooked. So much drama for one family to endure...secrets, tragedies, violent obsession and then the family agrees to care for a 10 year old Alaskan girl who is a complete stranger to them. Will things work out for this family...guess you will just have to read it to find out.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each member of this dysfunctional family has their own pain and their own way of self medicating. until a 10 year old girl with her own pain comes to live with them i do not like books that devote a chapter or labeled section to one person's experience at a time. Somehow it feels very disjointed. That was the case with this book. It was an OK story and presentation for a first novel. I hope the author continues to write and will find her own stride.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting story of multiple point of views from a local writer. It's neat to see parts of Portland I know and learn new things about this city I didn't know about. It's wonderful when this mixed together kind of family take care of a 10 year old Native Alaskan girl, Addie, who needed a safe space while her mom had to deal with certain things. Addie's coming brought good changes to her foster family in the Pacific NW where each adult grows to where they need to go next in life.

[Carole Barkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting structure. The story develops through first-person narratives. The focus is on a family with a a lot of things they never talk about that are crippling and undermining them. The catalyst for change is a 10-year-old Native Alaskan girl who is sent to live with them while her mother recovers from a suicide attempt.

The writing does get a bit florid at times.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings. Included way too many issues. Some beautiful writing. Addie was way too mature for a 10-year-old. I wished there had been a few more clues about the ages of the characters and when it was taking place. I got way too distracted by references to the earthquake in Seward and thought it was just lazy writing until the last chapter when it all adds up.

[Barb Ruess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book while wandering through Powell’s in Portland determined to find a book by an author I’d never heard of. I’m so glad this is the one I picked up - it was a fantastic story! Wonderful characters who told the story from different perspectives. Absolutely loved it!

Well done Portland Library Writers Project for bringing this book to print!

[Savannah Lyda · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is a slower read than what I typically enjoy I think the author did a great job at showing the tensions that families try to ignore but that could ultimately break them apart if allowed. This story has relatable characters and a surprise ending that I did not see coming.

This is a well written story that has ups, downs, and ends happily!

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was so suspenseful, beautifully written, and heartbreaking in all of the right ways. I was so emotionally invested in all of the characters, their fraught pasts, and how their lives intertwine in unexpected ways. I definitely recommend this book.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. A beautifully woven story with a cast of characters you grow to love despite their flaws or perhaps because of their flaws. Wonderful book! Doesn’t hurt that it is set here in Portland, Oregon! 🙂

[Lindi Goins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely write book reviews. This book drew me in from the first. The stories of each character and their interconnectedness are skillfully woven on each page. I will read this book again.

[Ari Mathae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun beach read! I loved all of the characters, and I enjoyed each of their personal dramas. This was a really satisfying book to read.