Mary/Lindsay

Mary, who would change her name to Lindsay as a teenager, is the youngest of the twelve Galvin children. She lives through many struggles and traumas as a child, including being sexually abused by her elder brother Jim. Mary first appears in the book in the prologue, as a seven-year-old child who hates her eldest brother Donald. She does not have the capacity at that age to understand the complexities of his mental illness and can only process the hurt and fear that he inflicts upon her and the rest of the family during his psychotic episodes. Mary also struggles with strong feelings of abandonment after her only sister Margaret goes to live with another family in her early teen years. Much of Mary's early life is characterized by her desire to get away from her family. This is reflected in part by her decision to...