In many cultures, family is the most cherished thing. What is a family? The American Psychological Association states: “A family consists of a group of individuals united by biology or by marital, adoptive, or other intimate ties. The family is the fundamental social unit of most human societies, but its form and structure can vary widely, including the biological family, extended family, stepfamily, and even groups of friends known informally as “framilies.”
Family members tend to support each other and look out for each other. But like any other relationship, families can be complicated. According to Psychologytoday.com, “Close family relationships afford a person better health and well-being, as well as lower rates of depression and disease throughout a lifetime. But in many families, getting along isn’t a given.”
In my upcoming novel, The Ambition, family is one of its primary themes. Two primary families inhabit the story. The Cippione family consists of a mother, father, two sons and their wives and young children. The Triani family comprises four son, three wives, and their children.
When the patriarch of the Cippione family dies, the sons and their wives step in to support and comfort the mother. When one of the sons undergoes a separation, the entire family intervene to assist him physically and mentally. The Trianis experience the death of a sibling, and knowing how slow the police can move, the brothers step in to help solve the crime quickly.
In essence, no one in either family is left totally alone when the chips are down. In the words of John Donne, “No man is an island, Entire of itself…”
You must read the novel to learn how the Cippione family supported the matriarch and what the Trianis did to unearth their brother’s killer.
