So Long As We’re Together

The Stone Girls — Donna, Andi and Marley —have always been there for one another. Twins Andi and Marley have always lived with their mother Donna’s fits of restlessness and sense of wonder. For them, “leaving on the midnight train” meant long road trips to new destinations and starting over with a new life. As Donna finally settles down into the role she was meant to live, Andi and Marley come into their own as the country music sensation, The Andi Stone Tour. Marley is the brooding songwriter behind Andi’s glitz and glamour and commanding the stage. Marley takes us on the journey of growing up in Donna’s world, being the silent twin, dealing with the aftermath of Donna’s suicide and coming to terms with demons of the past. 

If any book should be on readers shelves as a must read, this one is it. Ms. Burgess paints a vivid picture of what it is like behind the scenes of the music industry as a songwriter while intertwining the love and heartbreak of losing a loved one in a senseless way. As Marley sets out to clean her childhood lake cabin home, memories come rushing back to her making her really contemplate why she is the way she is. With the help of her sister Andi and childhood friends, Marley sets out to free herself of the material things her mother left behind, but most importantly, she finds the courage to also leave pieces of her past in the past and forge ahead into the mystery that is life. "So Long as We'reTogether" is a beautiful portrait of how an insurmountable loss can lead to finding something greater within.

Alison Ellis