The Crooked Heart of Mercy: A Novel

Maggie and Ben, once married but now separated, have lost their toddler son in a tragic accident and imagine they’ll never recover. Ben is in a psych ward, fully dissociated from reality, with a literal hole in his head. Maggie is struggling to pay her bills but feels incapable of getting and holding down a job, though an elderly woman named Lucy recognizes her potential and forces Maggie to rejoin the living. Maggie’s brother, Francis, is a priest on the verge of losing everything to his addiction. When Francis comes to stay with Maggie, he sees that his redemption just may depend on bringing Maggie and Ben back together–saving them all.

Telling Ben and Maggie’s story through alternating viewpoints and heartbreaking family histories, Livingston gives a clear-eyed account of flawed people facing their worst selves and their worst nightmares–and the depths they must plunge to before finally rising to the surface and breathing again. Crooked Heart is a nuanced exploration of grief and family loyalty, showing that a happy ending is one where getting through day after day may be the greatest success of all.