The Woman behind the Waterfall by Leonora Meriel

People go through a variety of experiences that shape their adult future. Some of these experiences lead to growth and possession of valuable lessons. Others lead to depression, heartbreak and recurrent pain. These are the worst kind. Not only do they affect the carrier of the baggage but they also affect the people around them. Things are worse when some of the people around are children. Children are innocent. They look at the world with a pure mind. Children have the ability to trot around in their imaginations unencumbered by gross worldly experiences. Children are also perceptive. A child can tell when things are not right. As it is with human nature, they will do everything in their power to restore joy. In most cases, children will inevitably carry the cross of their parents’ unfortunate choices from the past. 

Angela is a happy go lucky seven-year-old girl. She likes to lie on the ground and let her imagination run away with her. She enjoys the smell of earth and sound of singing birds. She enjoys having conversations with her deceased grandmother. Angela is a happy child whose heart is melted by her mother’s touch and love. She finds her mother crying uncontrollably one day. She then embarks on a mission to help her mother let go of her past pain. She wants her mother to be happy again. Will Angela succeed in helping her mother heal? Will she maintain her freedom and happiness once she learns of her family’s secrets?

The Woman behind the Waterfall is a story about three generations of women. The story highlights the plight of single motherhood. A woman struggling with her own demons but still worrying sick everyday about her daughter. Lyuda tries to numb the pain with vodka but that I sonly a band-aid on her emotional wound. All the while, Angela’s grandmother’s soul tries to protect her light from her mother’s darkness. 

Leonora Meriel kicks off the book with a glimpse into Angela’s mind. The vivid description of the Ukranian countryside plunges the reader deep into the book. The reader will smell the lilacs and hear the birds sing. The authors writing is wonderfully poetic sprinkled with beautiful Ukranian words. It is a heartbreaking tale of love and loss. This is the kind of book that does not leave the reader’s mind long after it has been completed. The story haunts and awakens the mind. It is a sobering peek into depression and how it may affect the children when they have to carry the burden too. This starts as Angela’s story but it is really her mother’s. Children are the light in their mother’s lives. This is an endearing testament to that. 

The action is scantily spread and the author repeats Angela’s action of lying under the lilac tree. These, however, are not deterrent to a thorough enjoyment of this book. The reader will surely have a hard time putting this down and later suffer a severe ‘book-hangover’.