STORIES TO SHARE:

Set in northside Chicago, the novel "What You Don't Know" explores how far a person will go to be loved and accepted. The story focuses on Sylvie Bauer Morrison and her adult daughter, Rita. The flash fiction stories below give the background of their relationship:

About the novel: Craving social approval and status, Sylvie hides the shameful events surrounding her childhood during the Depression. Her secrecy and distance translates into a lack of maternal warmth. Young Rita spends her childhood doing Sylvie's bidding in search of affection--even when it means becoming an accomplice to Sylvie's sometimes risky behavior.

The novel shows you can live with someone all your life and never really know who they are. After exposing one small piece of the family's past, Rita discovers Sylvie's hidden childhood and begins to understand her mother for the first time. Then she and her cousins stumble on a much bigger family secret--something about their grandmother even their mothers don't know. It changes the family tree and has the power to crumble the fragile bond between Sylvie and Rita.

Mommy Knows Best - Four-year-old Rita questions Sylvie during night prayers, "We never pray for anyone in Daddy's family. Shouldn't we pray for Grandma and Grandpa Morrison?"

Rain Fall - When eight-year-old Rita tumbles from her mother's moving car she learns what it means to feel safe.

Wheeler Dealer - Teen Rita navigates the minefield of living with Sylvie.