The Accidentals - by Minrose Gwin (Paperback)

About the Book

Following the death of their mother, the McAlister daughters have to deal with the ripple effect of this tragedy over the course of decades in Mississippi.

Book Synopsis

Following the death of their mother from a botched backwoods abortion, the McAlister daughters have to cope with the ripple effect of this tragedy as they come of age in 1950s Mississippi and then grow up to face their own impossible choices--an unforgettable, beautiful novel that is threaded throughout with the stories of mothers and daughters in pre-Roe versus Wade America.

Life heads down back alleys, takes sharp left turns. Then, one fine day it jumps the track and crashes."

In the fall of 1957, Olivia McAlister is living in Opelika, Mississippi, caring for her two girls, June and Grace, and her husband, Holly. She dreams of living a much larger life--seeing the world and returning to her wartime job at a landing boat factory in New Orleans. As she watches over the birds in her yard, Olivia feels like an "accidental"--a migratory bird blown off course.

When Olivia becomes pregnant again, she makes a fateful decision, compelling Grace, June, and Holly to cope in different ways. While their father digs up the backyard to build a bomb shelter, desperate to protect his family, Olivia's spinster sister tries to take them all under her wing. But the impact of Olivia's decision reverberates throughout Grace's and June's lives. Grace, caught up in an unconventional love affair, becomes one of the "girls who went away" to have a baby in secret. June, guilt-ridden for her part in exposing Grace's pregnancy, eventually makes an unhappy marriage. Meanwhile Ed Mae Johnson, an African-American care worker in a New Orleans orphanage, is drastically impacted by Grace's choices.

As the years go by, their lives intersect in ways that reflect the unpredictable nature of bird flight that lands in accidental locations--and the consolations of imperfect return.

Filled with tragedy, humor, joy, and the indomitable strength of women facing the constricted spaces of the 1950s and 60s, The Accidentals is a poignant, timely novel that reminds us of the hope and consolation that can be found in unexpected landings.

From the Back Cover

"Life heads down back alleys, takes sharp left turns. Then, one fine day it jumps the track and crashes."

In the fall of 1957, Olivia McAlister is living in Opelika, Mississippi, caring for her two girls, Grace and June, and her husband. She dreams of living a much larger life--seeing Paris and returning to her wartime job at a landing boat factory in New Orleans. As she watches over the birds in her yard, Olivia feels like an "accidental"--a migratory bird blown off course.

When Olivia becomes pregnant again, she makes a fateful decision that reverberates throughout Grace's and June's lives. Grace, caught up in an unconventional love affair, becomes one of the "girls who went away" to have a baby in secret. June, guilt-ridden for her part in exposing Grace's pregnancy, eventually makes an unhappy marriage. Meanwhile Ed Mae Johnson, an African American care worker in a New Orleans orphanage, is drastically impacted by Grace's choices.

As the years go by, their lives intersect in ways that reflect the unpredictable flights of birds diverted from their expected journey--and the consolations of imperfect return.

Review Quotes

"Evocatively depicting the small town of Opelika, Miss., in 1957, Gwin (Promise) tells the heart-rending story of a mother feeling trapped in her life, whose death throws her family into turmoil. A satisfying fable of errors and consequences in a tumultuous era." - Publishers Weekly
"This is the story of a family, but mostly, it's the epic tale of two sisters, and, in the end, we are left with sublime memories of empty sparrow nests, chicken "coke awe vine," and reticulating giraffes. A stunning book you will want to read and re-read." - Margaret McMullan, bestselling author of Where the Angels Lived
"A sensitive coming-of-age story...saturated with heartbreak but still offering hope." - Booklist
"An important story about women's reproductive rights and the consequences of limited choices, the novel will transport readers to the rural Mississippi of a bygone era. The story offers unique and insightful perspectives on family, race, forgiveness, and personal agency. An artfully crafted tale..." - Kirkus Reviews
"...Minrose Gwin tenderly recounts the lives of two sisters shattered by the shocking loss of their mother. The unique voices of outsiders enrich their story, and Gwin pulls together the threads of all characters' lives into an elegant and surprising tapestry." - Diane Chamberlain, New York Times bestselling author of The Dream Daughter
"If Eudora Welty channeled Charles Dickens she'd have written this novel about orphans and strays and the accidental ways they lose and find each other. It's a happy, sad, sweet page-turner, a great book." - Debra Monroe, author of On the Outskirts of Normal
"THE ACCIDENTALS may be Minrose Gwin's best yet. A family saga set in the black-and-white South of a generation ago, every page of this gripping drama shines with unexpected flashes of beauty and brilliance. A gorgeous book." - George Bishop, author of The Night of the Comet
"The Accidentals is a whirlwind of a book, spanning sixty years of American history as experienced by one southern family. Regardless of your attitudes on abortion, civil rights, and the space race, this novel will lift you out of your comfort zone before shaking you out of your complacency." - Sharon Oard Warner, author of Sophie's House of Cards
"THE ACCIDENTALS is a major work by someone whose earlier novels already marked her as one of this generation's great novelists...And it is not only character and plot that make this book so readable; the writing is pure poetry. Gwin has done it again!" - Margaret Randall, author of Time's Language: Selected Poems 1959-2018