Preview of Notes for Another Life Summary:

Bridgers herself identifies three themes which occur throughout her work: "the importance of family, the ties to the land and its heritage, and a spirit of hopefulness" ("From the Inside Out"). All three are evident in Notes for Another Life, the story of the Jackson family. It opens with Wren Jackson and her grandmother, Bliss Jackson, traveling by car to the hospital to visit Tom Jackson, Wren's father and Bliss's son. He has been hospitalized once again for depression; Tom periodically withdraws to the point where he will not eat or talk to anyone. Wren's brother Kevin cannot bring himself to visit his father; he fears that he too will be a victim of the strain of insanity that runs through the Jackson family. After his mother, Karen Jackson, files for divorce and moves to Chicago and he breaks up with his girl friend, Melanie, Kevin feels completely...