Narrator Lucy Barton grew up in rural Amgash, IL, isolated, abused, and yearning to become a writer. But what would someone who was raised without television, friends, or love write about? When we talk about people "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps" or escaping poverty to make something of themselves, sometimes we forget to consider the social foundation that many of us take for granted, that allows is to "fit in" and pursue our goals. Lucy is fortunate that she has talent and has built a family and a life in Manhattan, far from her childhood environment. She has a supportive spouse (with German roots that Lucy's war-scarred father cannot abide) to help her realize her dreams and to help her put her "one story" into words.
Lucy is hospitalized for 9 weeks with an unexplained post-surgical infection. Missing her husband and two girls, she is shocked to awaken one day to find her mother sitting in a chair in her hospital room. For 5 days her mother, who has never said "I love you" or shown any interest in Lucy's dreams and aspirations, talks with Lucy about random people from their past and about her family, but never about her own feelings or the reasons for Lucy's emotionally confused childhood. But it is the sound of her mother's voice rather than what she says that brings joy to Lucy's heart, easing her isolation and connecting her again with the family that she has left behind.
Lucy's story is told in retrospect, and we learn much more about her during the course of the novel, about the deficiencies of her childhood, the important relationships that have formed her character and her writing career, and of the strength of her marriage. Strout's novel is simple, yet powerful. I am not really sure I understood the true theme of My Name Is Lucy Barton, but I believe it is about family and connections and the fact that all of us are the sum of our experiences and relationships. We are never truly alone.
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