Author Description

For most of her 15 years, Bent has devoted all of her free time and thought to her mother, who suffers from a genetically carried fatal disease. She has watched her mother's vivaciousness, beauty and finally, her speech slip away, aware that the same fate may become hers. As death approaches, Bent's mother is placed in a nursing home in the New York suburbs. Although her father tries to show his concern and love for Bent, and to explain the long-ago divorce, she refuses to consider any reality other than her own set opinions. She remains aloof and disdainful, turning instead to marijuana, which she smokes occasionally. Possible reconciliation is thwarted when she discovers her father in an indiscretion and unwisely forces the incident to light. After her mother's death, Bent escapes to Florida (money is never an issue for her), imposing upon her few friends.