Eddie and Sunny by Stacey Cochran

I finished this book nearly two weeks ago and I couldn't even bring myself to write a review until now. 

'Eddie and Sunny' is a bit gritty and dark. A novel about a family living on the fringes of society, where food, shelter and money are extremely hard to come by and morals are tested on a daily basis. Eddie and Sunny are not the people living off they system and driving a caddy filled with groceries bought on food stamps. To survive, Eddie and Sunny do some questionable things and get caught up in a lot of trouble. By the end, though, Cochran will have you rooting for the underdog.

Many things that stirred my brain but mostly the fact that to write a book like this you have to understand poverty in the American culture. I've seen a lot of authors attempt this but none so well as Cochran. 

What do most authors miss: 

1) mental illness - mental illnesses like depression, schizophrenia, etc is rampant and these people do not have adequate healthcare for medications and therapy. Or, they refuse help. This impacts the entire family and affects the ability for them to trust others who might help. It also, sadly, trickles down to the next generation.

2) Drug use during pregnancy - this hits me close to home because I am a neonatal ICU nurse, in upstate NY newborn admissions for drug addiction has skyrocketed. Let me tell you people, your life is forever changed when you watch an infant struggling to withdraw for weeks to months at a time. For this reason, reading about Sunny during her pregnancy truly tugged at my heartstrings. But on a positive note, at least she breastfed, which helps the infants withdrawal through the mothers breast milk. (Okay, I'm done ranting about that)

Eddie and Sunny is a great read that will get the wheels of your mind rolling. After finishing this book, be prepared to sit back and take a nice hard think about life and how much you really have.

5/5 stars