In the 1970s, an intensive program to eradicate drug addiction made waves. Synanon was at first seen as a positive force, endorsed by celebrities and politicians. Soon, however, darker truths were revealed about the group’s “healing” methodologies and the trauma it forced on innocent adults and children. Rowan Beaird’s sophomore novel, Tenderness, chronicles the 1976 wedding weekend of one Synanon survivor, who may not make it to her nuptials if two mysterious crashers have anything to say about it.
Chicago native Shay O’Connor was foundering in New York City, despite admission to a top law program as one of its few female students and a caring fiancé in wealthy East Coaster Andrew Pruitt. A chance subway encounter led Shay to Synanon, and she eventually abandoned everything to live with the group full time, devoting herself to taking care of members’ children, keeping house and both participating in and enduring verbal abuse disguised as group therapy. But since her recent exit from Synanon, Shay has recommitted to Andrew, and now his elite family and her working-class relatives are convening on a remote Virginia island for the big day. But when Shay’s younger brother, William, and her ex-lover Joel notice strange behaviors from Shay and weird happenings on the island, they wonder if Synanon wants their ex-member back—by any means necessary.
Beaird (The Divorcées) deftly explores the complicated and often dangerous matter of leaving a high-control group through three perspectives: sensitive dishwasher William, who made a macabre discovery of his own before leaving Chicago; studious Joel, whose new girlfriend becomes increasingly aware of the torch he still carries for Shay; and Shay herself, an intelligent but lost soul who is still emotionally and spiritually extracting herself from the place—and people—she once called home. The novel’s settings, not just the sultry island but Shay and William’s Chicago childhood home and Synanon’s city compound, become characters in themselves, their vibrant detail enhancing an already suspenseful plot. Both a dark suspense novel and a compelling story of biological and found family, Tenderness will take a firm hold on the seeker in us all.
