She Cries in the Dark

by Debi DeSantis

She Cries in the Dark follows eight years in the life of a woman through the joys of marriage, the wonder of pregnancy, the anxiety of illness, the debilitation of loss and the building of a life through each of these types of events.

Maci Roberts thinks she has the perfect life when she walks down the aisle on her father’s arm in her parent’s backyard. Waiting for her is her future husband Steve Sullivan and he softly whispers that she is beautiful when he takes her hand. But after almost two years of idyllic romance and honeymoon the realities of life start to push their way in. In the same manner that the world’s historical timeline is marked off in war and changes in leadership, the history of the Sullivans is marked in visits to the hospital and new arrivals, a nasty conk on the head needs surgery, babies are born, an aggressive seductress at Steve’s job nearly breaks Maci’s heart, and an innocent child is taken away. For me the most emotional moments came from the happy times, especially the tender interplay between Maci’s parents after the children are born.

The buildup to the key scene in the work is long as there is a lot of emphasis on events leading up to the children’s births. The children’s first 5 years (Reagan and Joshua) and Maci’s resurgence from the final straw are not as thoroughly worked through as the descent into the void is.

This is a book for people, primarily women, with close and active families. Nobody else will be able to understand or believe the level of familial interaction, the number of events, and the emotional swings that occur; but it smacks of reality to this reviewer.