The Residue Years
Jackson’s poetic prose is a joy to read even as the relationship between Grace Thomas and her oldest son, Champ, falls to pieces, along with their lives, in their Portland, Oregon, ghetto homes. Grace, just released from a drug rehab program, is placed in a dismal, furnished apartment and instructed to find work. Not an easy task for a middle-aged African American woman with little education, a spotty employment record, and a felony conviction. Her crime? Collecting state child support in two states. It was the only way she could feed herself and her three sons, even with a pittance-paying job. Champ, aware of his mother’s sacrifices and, sadly, her addictions, wants only the best for her. But his resources and options are also limited. Jackson carries the main theme—options—gracefully throughout the Thomases’ story, as Grace and Champ each tell their tale of facing ever-changing realities. The ways mother and son grapple with social judgment and limited choices are provocative and timely in view of the current American cultural focus on personal responsibility. --Donna Chavez