On a June morning in 1953, Sara Vandal, believing her husband has been unfaithful for years, decides to stay in bed, triggering chaos for her family of ten children. Meanwhile, Oliver, her husband and the long-time manager of a local hotel in Union Plains, Manitoba, suspects he may lose his job by day’s end. To escape his impending reality, he visits Alice Bouchard, his childhood sweetheart. As the day unfolds, both Sara and Oliver reflect on their lives and the car accident that changed their destinies. Sara recalls her youth in Winnipeg, where she broke free from her restrictive Russian Mennonite upbringing. Oliver remembers the day he married Sara, feeling the weight of his choice as the only Métis man in a sea of Mennonites. The Vandal children also grapple with the upheaval. Alvina, the eldest, manages her family's stress while planning her escape and confronting the world's darkness. Emilie faces the potential loss of her cheerful father while confronting local racism. The boys act recklessly, embodying their family name, while young Ruby takes charge of the babies in her mother’s absence. By nightfall, the extended Vandal family must confront their past and the ghosts that have shaped their lives, culminating in a day of reckoning.
Sandra Birdsell Books
