Untethered A novel

Jackson-Brown (The Light Always Breaks) delivers a touching story of a middle-aged Black woman and the burdens she shoulders during the Vietnam War. It's 1967 in Troy, Ala., where Katia Daniels serves as executive director at a group home for boys, doing her best to embody the nurturing mother figure the children need and have come to expect from her. When a medical emergency prompts her to have a hysterectomy, Katia is crushed that she won't be able to have children of her own. She suppresses her anguish, however, because she knows the people she loves depend on her and she does not want to let them down, especially her widowed mother. Katia's world begins to unravel when one of her younger twin brothers returns home from Vietnam and the other is reported missing in action. The news collides with tensions at the group home, as Katia runs afoul of the misogynistic board of directors. There are a few plot holes on the way to a rushed conclusion, but Jackson-Brown ably captures Katia's indomitable spirit and devotion to her family. This is worth a look. Agent: Alice Speilburg, Speilburg Agency. (Dec.)