Description

Life for Betsy Ann Morgan, “…the girl who raised pigeons,” is difficult without a mother. Betsy Ann’s mother, Clara, died of a brain tumor “…her [Betsy Ann’s] father…came to believe …had been growing …all those times he had made love to her...” (p. 5) Betsy Ann’s mother, “…Clara spent most of the first months of her pregnancy in bed, propped up, and reading…the last month or so she spent…on the third floor at Gallinger Hospital. One morning, toward four o’clock, they cut open her stomach and pulled out the child…moments after Clara died…mother and daughter passing each other as if along a corridor, one into death, the other into life…” (p. 6)