Donna Jean Picerno’s I Had to Leave paints a fine example of life’s unexpected and capricious nature. The sudden loss of April’s father leaves the protagonist, her sisters and mother struggling to cope from their best abilities to their worst impulses, over the following years.
Overwhelmed from a young age by losing a parent, home stability and education, April is pushed to work overtime and reaches a breaking point once betrayed by the boyfriend who was her last hope.
As she finds sanctuary in her bond with a young man while staying at a juvenile psychiatric hospital, April slowly finds renewed hope, before her tumultuous journey continues challenging and crushing it, repeatedly.
This story takes readers on an emotional ride, from exploring the stark contrast between harsh and warm realities of family dynamics, mental health and lost childhood innocence, to the redemptive power of forgiveness, growth and change over the span of a decade.
Readers will grow alongside April, gripped by joy, sorrow, anger, surprise, confusion, fear, sacrifice and above all, the human capacity to love; in spite of the loss and suffering commonly experienced by all.
Picerno highlights the multi-faceted aspects of humanity, the complex relationship between individual characters across their internal vs external conflicts and offers perspective on how far the enduring human spirit can reach both in the absence or presence of love.
The Point of Meaning 