"Fearless.. a stunning narrative of perspective,
profound sadness and unrelenting hope."
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A powerful and eloquent book about loss and incomprehension, and a unique journey of learning and reconciliation.” - Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; author of An Unquiet Mind and Nothing Was the Same

"...a WSJ Best Health Book of 2009"

Winner of the Boston Authors Club Award 2010

In 1963, Nancy Rappaport's mother died by suicide after a bitter public divorce and custody battle. Nancy was just four years old and the youngest of six children. Growing up in a blended family of eleven children after her father remarried, Nancy was bewildered about why her mother took her own life and left her behind.

Drawing on court depositions, newspaper coverage, her mother's unpublished novel, and interviews with family and friends, she uncovers the story of a conflicted and troubled activist, socialite, and community leader. Rappaport explores the impact of her mother's suicide from the perspective of a daughter, psychiatrist, wife, and mother of three -- illuminating in the process the complicated nature of loss, reconciliation, and healing.

Inspiring, honest, and engaging, In Her Wake is a powerful testament to a woman's search for answers, and a potent reminder that love outlasts death.
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