Anger Is Only a Shadow

As an author, Elizabeth Acevedo creates “a novel in the way I've learned some people make quilts…I observe an interaction or hear a bit of conversation that becomes a scrap I fold away and save. I don't always know that what I'm tucking away might be put into a story or become the centerpiece of a narrative; | just know that I've witnessed a glint of the human experience that strikes me as worthy of consideration-that has just the right color, or pattern, to hold on to for another day. Quilts have two sides: the front side, the main image made up of much smaller pieces, and the backing, a larger piece of fabric that wraps around the raw edges and is often used as binding that can be seen from the front.” This is “The story of a family trying to understand how to support a loved one showing very early signs of mental illness…How do we support loved ones who have illnesses that are not easily treated? How do we allow dignity and value to humans who make choices out of sync with societal norms? What does it mean to find alternate and holistic forms of care and repair alongside the options offered by traditional medicine? In the midst of a loneliness epidemic, how do we continuously remind each other that isolation and removal from the fabric of humanity undoes warmth in all our spirits? We are each other's cover, both sides of the quilt say.” “The memories a family has made together are like the cloths that cover my grandmother's dining room table, the stage for warmth and nourishment that gathers loved ones. When the memories go, what happens to the stitching between us?...There is no shame too big for family.” Anger Is Only a Shadow cast on the wall by sadness. Family is “the moldability of a love that spackles over the deepest flaws and cracks. How lucky we…are to have people who care for us.”