We Became Like a Hand: A Story of Five Sisters

As the oldest of five sisters, Carol Ortlip identified herself as the "translator, " the one responsible for making sense of the outside world for her four younger sisters. In this moving, beautifully written memoir, she seeks to make sense of her own world, of which her sisters are a deeply important part. As children, each sister seemed essentially placed, becoming the one the rest had been waiting for: Carol (translator and guide), Kate (nurturer and second in command), Shari (prophet and poet), Danielle (compliant mediator), and Michele (youngest and the family conscience). Their love for one another permeated their childhood and sustained them during their mother's depression, their stepfather's emotional abuse, the challenges of growing up, and the profound tragedies that threatened to break even the strongest heart. Throughout this touching, ultimately uplifting memoir, the "hand" serves as a poignant metaphor for how Ortlip is both intrinsically connected to and distinct from the people she loves most.… (more)