When You Go Away [Paperback]

Jessica Barksdale Inclan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

Called "an author to watch" by New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah, Jessica Barksdale Inclán pens a heartwrenching tale of a mother of three, abandoned by her husband, who finally reaches the breaking point and does the unthinkable-simply gets in her car and drives away.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Inclan's third novel impressively showcases her talent for bringing vulnerable characters to the forefront through her luminescent writing abilities. Peri MacKenzie is emotionally ransacked, caring for a disabled child and two teenagers without the financial support of her husband, Graham. Not only has Graham left town, he has a decadent home and a new wife and hasn't bothered to see his children since the divorce. After moving the family to a dingy apartment, Peri's mental degradation takes a turn for the worse, and she drives away leaving five-year-old bedridden Brooke, a child so handicapped she eats through a feeding tube, alone in the house. Carly and Ryan are shocked to find Brooke alone when they return from school and are equally mortified when their mother does not return. This is by far Inclan's most daring novel and evidence of a rapidly developing talent that nimbly manipulates the tragic aspects of human nature to produce a book that is true to life in its heartbreaking quest for hope. Elsa Gaztambide
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Signet (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451214609
• ISBN-13: 978-0451214607
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,498,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jessica Barksdale Inclan's debut novel Her Daughter's Eyes, published in 2001, was the premier novel published under New American Library's new imprint Accent. Her Daughter's Eyes was a final nominee for the YALSA Award for the best books of 2001 and best paperbacks for 2001 and has been published in Dutch and Spanish. Her next novel The Matter of Grace was published in May 2002 and was re-released in a mass market version in May 2004. Her third, When You Go Away, came out April 1, 2003. Her fourth, One Small Thing, was published April 2004, and has been published in Dutch and Spanish. Her fifth, Walking With Her Daughter, was published in April 2005. The Instant When Everything is Perfect was published in February 2006. In June 2006, she published the first in a trilogy from Kensington Books. When You Believe was followed by Reason to Believe and Believe in Me. Being with Him, Intimate Beings, and The Beautiful Being (October 2009) are the novels in her second trilogy. She is a 2002 recipient of the CAC Artist's Fellowship in Literature. Incl'n teaches composition, creative writing, mythology, and women's literature at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, and on-line creative writing courses for UCLA extension. She has studied with Sharon Olds, Anne Lamott, Kate Braverman, Grace Paley, Marjorie Sandor, and Cristina Garcia. Her short stories and poems have appeared in Rockhurst Review, Hotwired, The Salt Hill Journal, Free Lunch, The West Wind Review, The Prairie Star, Gargoyle and many other journals and newspapers. Her short story Open Eyes was given first prize by Sandra Cisneros for El Andar magazine's 2000 writing contest. She co-edited a women's literature/studies textbook Diverse Voices of Women (Mayfield Publishing, 1995). Ms. Inclan has degrees in sociology and English literature from CSU Stanislaus and a Master's degree in English literature from SFSU. Ms. Inclan lives in Oakland, California and is currently at work on her next novel. Find her Kindle books on Amazon, starting with The Wolf at the Window.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When You Go Away (Jessica Barksdale Inclan), June 29, 2003

By 

Louise Jolly (Omemee, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When You Go Away (Nal Accent Novels) (Paperback)

A third and truly captivating novel by Ms. Inclan. Peri Mackenzie is a wife and mother of three children who is suffering from a mental breakdown and depression. Peri is totally dumbfounded and awestruck when her husband leaves the marriage. Peri has great difficulty dealing with the breakup as she believed their committment in marriage to each other was solid and unshakeable. Her husband is living in Arizona with his new mate and leaves Peri and her children without financial aid. Peri appears to emotionally struggle and is caught up in an ever increasing depression. Desperate, angry, hurt and confused she gets in her car and drives away from home leaving her children behind. Peri drives to Arizona in search of the husband who abandoned her. Peri unfortunately, doesn't think about HER abandonment of her own children by driving away. Once gone, Carly the eldest child is forced to take over running the household. Carly's younger sister Brooke is handicapped and Carly struggles to do her best for her sister in the absence of her mother. Changing, washing and feeding her sister each day is tough for this young teenager. Brooke becomes ill with a high fever and Carly is uncertain who to turn to. She calls their maternal grandfather Carl, whom they haven't seen or been in contact with for quite some time. Carl immediately steps up to the plate and takes in his abandoned three grandchildren. Carl begins a search for his depressed and missing daughter, while tending to the needs of his grandchildren. Once Peri has been found and spends time in a hospital, she must come to terms with the fact that she abandoned her children and must now live without them until she can prove to the courts, her father, her children and most of all herself, that she is well enough to take care of them again and deserving enough to have a second chance!
Ms. Inclan's portrayal of vulnerability and mental illness in these people's lives is written with compassion and sensitivity. Also, that having a child with a handicap, whether it be physcial or mental, requires a twenty-four hour, 365 day committment. We are all subject to vulnerability and down times in our lives and Ms. Inclan's ability to communicate these subjects to the reader is done with grace.
I have read Ms. Inclan's other two novels: 'Her Daugher's Eyes' and 'The Matter of Grace' and would highly recommend all three to your readers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review for the book "When You Go Away", July 22, 2005

By 

Emma Thomas "Emma" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When You Go Away (Paperback)

I thought this book was excellent! I was intrigued to buy it just by the first chapter that someone put on the website to be viewed by people. This book is about a girl named Carly, who's mom has left because she can't deal with taking care of her children now that her husband has left her. Carly has a 5-year-old syster with Muscular Distrophy and Cerebral Palsy, who is completely dependent on other people to care for her. She is fed through a tube in her stomache because she cannot digest food properly. Carly has learned from her mom how to feed and care for her sister, but after a few days the supplies needed are running out and the little girl is showing signs of an infection. Carly is forced to contact a neighbor for help. Carly also has a brother who is a few years older than her. He doesn't know how to take care of their little sister and doesn't help, but when he finds out that the little girl is sick, he wants to help and is scared along with Carly about her health. There is much that happens in this story. The children's grandfather on their moms side decides to check up on his daughter and finds out that she has left and wants to help his grandchildren. The children's grandma on their dads side also wants to help and the two grandparents have to struggle with their dislike for each other and bond together to help care for the children. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book about families and sticking together.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When You Go Away, May 5, 2010

By 

Thomas White "Thomas White author-Justice Rules" (Spokane, WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When You Go Away (Nal Accent Novels) (Paperback)

I am a huge fan of Ms Inclan and have read most of her work. She does not fail me here with When You Go Away. It is a touching and revealing look into a woman's temporary break down. As the pressure mounts choices are presented, when you cave to the pressure and have to escape, there are consequences to be paid. Ms. Inclan creates a world where the reader completely understands and empathized with the wrong choices this woman makes and the irreversible situation that is created because of her actions. I highly recommend this book for everyone who has ever felt overwhelmed.
Justice Rules - 2010 Finalist Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest (A Brian Wylie Novel)