Back of the Yard by Meg Lelvis—an early reader’s review: This book seemed very familiar to me in several ways; my folks came from South Chicago (a little earlier than the story’s timeframe) and so the streets and locals were very easy to envision. Sadly, we also had a family member who suffered from clinical depression and the progression and the treatments in the story felt true to form.
This is a quiet book about how a tragedy can ripple through an entire family and even generations. Saying that there was a single tragedy is somewhat unfair—it was more of a storm of events that contributed to the situation—but it also spoke to the different ways in which different people react under similar circumstances.
This was a good read—more thought provoking than action-packed, but people need both kinds of stories for balance. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The story kept me engaged and interested throughout. The characters felt real, the emotions they felt were valid and the storylines authentic and engrossing. As Betty grows up in a Depression-era South Chicago neighborhood, she struggles to understand a family tragedy and the fallout that occurs. Sent away to live with relatives, Betty believes her mother must not want her and that feeling persists throughout Betty’s life. Betty, despite having a loving husband and children, begins to struggle with depression and begins her journey to find help. Betty’s mother’s depression and struggles to find appropriate treatment have influenced Betty’s childhood and adulthood. She longs for understanding and compassion from her mother. She longs to understand the illness ravaging her mother as she battles her demons. This was such a powerful story of loss and love. Of the influence of mental illness on all the members of a family and how that family learns to cope, often in dysfunctional ways. Highly recommended! ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The story kept me engaged and interested throughout. The characters felt real, the emotions they felt were valid and the storylines authentic and engrossing. As Betty grows up in a Depression-era South Chicago neighborhood, she struggles to understand a family tragedy and the fallout that occurs. Sent away to live with relatives, Betty believes her mother must not want her and that feeling persists throughout Betty’s life. Betty, despite having a loving husband and children, begins to struggle with depression and begins her journey to find help. Betty’s mother’s depression and struggles to find appropriate treatment have influenced Betty’s childhood and adulthood. She longs for understanding and compassion from her mother. She longs to understand the illness ravaging her mother as she battles her demons. This was such a powerful story of loss and love. Of the influence of mental illness on all the members of a family and how that family learns to cope, often in dysfunctional ways. Highly recommended! ( )

Back of the Yard by Meg Lelvis—an early reader’s review: A play on words in the title: depression in more ways than one.
This book seemed very familiar to me in several ways; my folks came from South Chicago (a little earlier than the story’s timeframe) and so the streets and locals were very easy to envision. Sadly, we also had a family member who suffered from clinical depression and the progression and the treatments in the story felt true to form.
This is a quiet book about how a tragedy can ripple through an entire family and even generations. Saying that there was a single tragedy is somewhat unfair—it was more of a storm of events that contributed to the situation—but it also spoke to the different ways in which different people react under similar circumstances.
This was a good read—more thought provoking than action-packed, but people need both kinds of stories for balance. ( )

As a native Chicagoan and southsider, I wanted to like this novel, but alas. The author vividly describes Back of the Yards as a neighborhood that was "vibrant, dirty, tough, foul-smelling, colorful, and compassionate." But after the first dozen short chapters, the focus has shifted away from the area and on to one disaster after another, interspersed with historical events. The narrator telegraphs everything that is about to happen with awkward techniques: "In later years, I learned that..." "I heard later that..." or "I would learn that..." as well as by letting us know early on that a terrible accident will mark the family and that the narrator will suffer from mental illness. The novel reads as if it is a thinly disguised memoir, although it may very well not be. ( )