I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

Image from LibraryThing

I was ready for a thick, involved book and this was the perfect story.  It is one that haunts me still. There were times that I really disliked the book - REALLY disliked it!! But, I couldn't stop!

Dominick is a twin.  That descriptor has defined him through his entire life. Being a twin brings to mind pleasant images of shared secrets and moments. That is not the life of Dominick and his twin Thomas.  The book opens with Thomas cutting off his hand in a public library to protest the Gulf War.  Yes, cutting off his hand.

This is a culmination of Thomas' life with mental illness. His defining moment in the stacks of the library. Thomas is convinced that this event will force the world leaders to pause and rethink their march to world destruction.  But, this event also defined the moment start of the end for both Dominick and Andrew.

The book then is about the journey from that moment for Dominick - the road to understanding of his own limits and the road to healing as he fights to keep Thomas safe and deal with both is mother's death and her refusal to admit how his real father was.

Buried in this is the story of Dominck and Thomas' grandfather - a story that had been translated from Italian and uncovers the tendrils of mental illness from past generations.

I gotta say - I cried and sighed and wrote down the final lines of this book! I LOVED it!!!