In Dalhousie instructor Rebecca Babcock's debut novel, mother-daughter narrators Liz and Katie tentatively navigate their strained relationship over the years, from childhood to college, across seas, always with a smothering inability to communicate. Babcock gives us glimpses of familial decisions that come to represent the landmarks of heartbreak in the two women's lives; a more-loved sibling's suicide, the beginnings of an affair, the quiet loss of love. Through it all they move forward, suffering the silences of life together. Every Second Weekend, adapted in part from Babcock's one-woman show of the same name, houses ghosts of the stage. The dialogue is sharp with no word wasted and the characters, despite being at times frustrating and unlikeable, feel real---like family you have the obligation to love, if not understand. A quick read that lingers, Babcock's mother-daughter duo will remind you to balance expectations with acceptance of those you love...and, oh, to call your mother.
