“Does the reader need to be one of thirteen children of a near-destructively religious family in post WWII America to get lost in the trance of the period reality that Caitlin Hicks conjures in her coming-of-age tour-de-force? The answer is irrelevant to the pleasure and horror of consuming this book (that’s what you will do – consume it, inhale it, ingest it). In the same way that you don’t have to be a Huck Finn (or a Jim) to be immersed in Mark Twain’s recounting of Huck’s “Adventures”, you don’t have to be penitent Clare for Hicks to make you cry for the injustice of Clare’s fate. Or to be Jude, to share his infantile discoveries, or Madcap, to be swept away by romantic passion, or Mrs. Shea, to bury her doubts over misguided motherhood in order to keep the marital and familial peace.
“Hicks leads you into and guides you through the story by means of the eyes and mind of Annie Shea, a pre-teen torch in a family of torches. Some of the Sheas may disguise themselves as votive candles in their slow moments, but they are all torches when the fuel is poured on. And there is a great deal of fuel, indeed.
“Yet, in the end, it is not Annie’s eyes, or brain or mouth that brings her story over the finish line with grace and power and love . . . it is her heart. Hicks bares Annie’s heart again and again and again and in doing so, the reader’s as well. . . It’s fucking BRILLIANT!” – Lance Mason, Independent Health Professional
“I love your book The Theory of Expanded Love. I found the juxtaposition of the dysfunction within the family and the church fascinating; more so because despite the dysfunction, the physical and spiritual family were resilient and life affirming. That Annie suffers from the rigidity and chaos of her upbringing and benefits from the love and life training she receives is a conundrum many readers like myself will identify with. Our parents aren’t perfect, sometimes to a criminal fault, but when we come to accept their love, as Annie does, we are equipped to go out in the world and make our own mistakes instead of repeating theirs.
Your language is lively and descriptions engaging enough to make me want to find my way to the Shea’s bathroom to wash my hands regularly! . . . It is difficult to deal with a cast of characters as large as this one, but you do it masterfully. Once I got into the story, I could not put it down. . . The end was brilliant.” –Sydney Avey, Author
“I had to keep reading and hated for it to be over! Your book is wonderful. . . A great story, beautifully written. The Theory of Expanded Love considers all the great themes of life and death, who we are and where we fit or don’t, human greatness and human pettiness, God and religion, abandonment and reclamation, love and hate and in-between, lust and desire and sexual abuse… all from the point of view of 12, nearly thirteen, year old Annie Shea, number 6 in a family of 13! kids.! !
Many of us will remember 1963 as the year Kennedy was assassinated. Few of us will remember or know what it was like living those months before and after that event. What was the society of that time? What was it like to grow up in an enormous, practicing Catholic family with all the rules and rigidity and competition for privilege, social standing, and righteousness? What was it like to risk your eternal soul to stand up for what you believe in … to stand up for love?! ! Annie Shea lets us into that world, lets us live those days in full technicolor, rich and detailed. Annie lets us experience the confusion as real life thoughts and feelings struggle for understanding, as theory is tested against what really happened, as innocence is nearly but never really lost.
What is special and elegant in this story is the humour, honesty, intelligence and wisdom that unfolds and entertains moment by moment.! ! This story is funny. This story is a great read. This story is an eloquent life lesson. The theory of expanded love is proven. –Lynn Chapman, Environmentalist
“In a nutshell: I love the story. The voice is fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed this and had a lot of fun reading it over, three times! As a Catholic who grew up in the 60′s and 70′s this spoke to me on many levels and I laughed right out loud on more than one occasion. It was a joy.” – Erin Niumanta, Agent & VP @ Folio Lit
“The book is awesome. Totally unpredictable, I literally had NO idea what was going to happen. I adore Annie. I tore through it at warp speed because I just had to know. Then I read it again slower so I wouldn’t miss anything. ” – Aggie Sanders, avid reader
“Hilarious . . too funny. . . “Terrific story with so many twists and turns.”
“Excellent, a huge fall from grace. Very entertaining, lively and bravely truthful. . . A lovely glimpse of childhood faith & the big questions about God.”
“Brilliant ending.” . . .
Rosa Reid, Editor
“Hi Caitlin, I have just finished reading Part 1. Terrific work! The prologue is very intense and compelling, draws us in. I found all fourteen chapters told spellbinding stories. Wonderful how you have remembered all the fine details of the times, the magazines and movies what people watched on TV, all such good memories, that so fully round out your stories. In the reading, your characters come alive and we become attached to them , or suffer with them, you bring us right into all the activities in such a real and vivid way. About the faith and religious part: you have handled it with truth, and very fairly and it just slowly moves along to God knows what lies ahead, but so far without an axe to grind or a cause to beat us with. I like the faith part very much. A great read so far.” – Linda Szabados, writer
“I love it! I love your character! I love this book!” Joanne Bennison, writer
