The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne

I have to tell you… this book is not for the faint of heart. I’m not someone you’d usually consider a bleeding-heart when it comes to my literary choices, but this book was undoubtedly gut-wrenching. You think that you’re stressed out? Try living in this main character’s shoes for a day.
Cat Rucker gets a phone call that her mother has committed suicide and is forced to come home after 10 years of exile. At the beginning of the book you REALLY want to hate this character. She’s an alcoholic, a dead-beat, and an all around miserable human. You’ll be very confused at first (if you are a sensible individual) why she can’t wake herself out of her drunken stupor and realize that her mother just killed herself. But you won’t be able to put the book down, regardless of how annoyed you are by Cat. And for good reason. Very quickly you are transported back to her dark, disturbing childhood. Coyne describes the emotional and physical abuse of her character with such vivid detail, it may be hard to sleep the night you read it. You’ll immediately understand who the real villain is in the story, and it’s not Cat Rucker.
The story actually ends up being a tale of triumph and determination. Our little heroine, against all odds, manages to put right all the wrongs that were done to her as a child. This book is definitely worth reading, just make sure you have a box of tissues at your side the whole time. You will definitely be surprised.