Wildflowers

 Wildflowers

Reviewed By  Grasshopper2       September 27, 2022

 

Author  Peggy Frew

Distributor:      Allen & Unwin
ISBN:                 9781761066924
Publisher:         Allen & Unwin
Release Date:   September 2022  

   Website:   https://www.allenandunwin.com

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Peggy Frew writes with such detail and structure that Wildflowers almost becomes a breath holding read. If anyone was not completely aware of the destruction to family life caused by drug addiction, they need to read this book. A “normal” family is slowly destroyed by the gradual decline of their beloved family member.

Amber is the youngest member of the family. She has always been the wild passionate star and her sisters Meg and Nina adored her for it. Mum and Dad were bewildered by their enchanted child, so beautiful, so talented, so alive.

Peggy Frew cleverly moves backwards and forward through time to give the reader an understanding of the family dynamics and just how life experiences have impacted on Amber. From being the drama queen of the stage, Amber suffers some setbacks which eventually lead to her drug habit.

Her family is concerned but unsure of how to cope and what steps to take. They wilt as they see Amber slowly becoming a shell. It is Meg the oldest and “bossiest” and most caring sister who develops a plan which only she and Nina can carry out. The tension, and fear that result is gripping.

In between the dramatic action, Frew uses language as a beautiful counterfoil. Staying near Mossman, Nina is entranced by the feel of the moist night air and the bird calls, which were “Gentler and more frequent, so the effect was of a rippling blanket of sound,” Wildflowers is a powerful story with reflections on all who become connected with addictions.

Fiction