Powerful memoir delivers strong, touching storyline about sisterhood

Imagine being the eldest of two siblings. Imagine losing one to fatal illness, and then, another. No longer a sibling, what are you now? "The only one left," Jessica Handler writes in her memoir "Invisible Sisters," a powerful story of loss, bereavement, and the human capacity to heal.

The story follows the remarkable journey of the Handler family, a family seemingly cursed by sickness and death, and their will to carry on through their daily lives in 1960s and 1970s Atlanta. Sarah, the youngest sister, is born with a rare and incurable blood disease called Kostmann's Syndrome; the middle sister, Susie, at 6, is diagnosed with leukemia. Jessica stands alone as the self-professed "well sibling." After Susie dies, Jessica watches as her parents, isolated in their grief, begin the process of turning away from each other. Yet, "Invisible Sisters" is as much about a woman's reclamation of herself as it is about a family torn apart by grief and incomprehensible losses.

With a candid ease and keen, perceptive voice, Handler paints a vivid portrait of her lifelong battle with loss, a journey that begins with an idyllic childhood, continues into aimless adolescence, and flowers further on to the novel thrills and soul-searches of young adulthood. She presents the scenes of her life with captivating clarity. Each rich detail, their credibility owing to Handler's research and textual support in the forms of journal entries, letters, and medical documents, lends another layer of depth to the complex workings of her family's, and her own, inner life. She opens herself to the reader, unguarded, making her both a relatable and reliable narrator.

Though the narrative traces Jessica's life from childhood to adulthood, the narrator often makes effortless, seamless leaps between past and present that create a flowing, conversational feel. She enhances her storytelling with references to the culture of the times, due in part to her father's heavy involvement with the Civil Rights movement. Such references lead to striking scenes such as when Jessica sees her first dead body (Dr. Martin Luther King's), or experiences her first acid trip.

Handler's ability to revisit and articulate the thoughts not only of her past self but also of loved ones, demonstrates strong insight and admirable courage. She describes the thoughts of her childhood self as if she thought them only yesterday. Her writing provides a clear and true-to-life illustration of how a young child copes with death: "If I could notice everything around me," she reflects, "I would have worked hard enough to keep everyone alive." Later on she explains her dislike of fractions, for in the wake of her fracturing family, she firmly believes  "{t}hings should be whole." Handler makes brilliant use of concrete scenes to both give a detailed account of her family and to forge a segue into the deeper meanings that emerge, subtle and unbidden, from the story's surface.

"Invisible Sisters" thoroughly captivates from its first page to its last, due in part to its author's engaging honesty, bold detail, and talent for craft. Handler succeeds in portraying the trials and triumphs inherent in the grieving process. Grief and loss are universal struggles to which any reader can relate; and while the Handlers' tragedy will undoubtedly stir readers' hearts, it is the memoir's testament to the tenacity and will of the human spirit that readers will find most inspirational.