Love is a Burning Thing is an extraordinary book, made even more so because this is a memoir, not fiction. All of the things that happened to the author and her family are real, and that makes this story even more riveting and touching and disturbing. Nina and her brother grew up with a mom who had so many issues – and who survived lighting herself on fire in a suicide attempt - it’s hard to even imagine how stressful their childhood must have been.

Their mother dragged them all over California, in such of some “truth” somewhere. At times almost normal, but much of the time neglectful, she often left them mostly on their own with nothing to guide them except her explanations of the latest enlightenment she was chasing. Nina and her brother Chris rarely had a chance to fit in, to not be those other, weird kids, to know long they would stay in one place. It’s amazing that Nina came out on the other side as she did.

This is a book that is hard to describe. It’s one of those books you hand to a friend and say, “You absolutely must read this. You won’t be able to put it down.” It’s well-written, detailed, heartbreaking. Thanks to Penguin Random House, Penguin Group Dutton for providing an advance copy of Love is a Burning Thing via NetGalley. It will grab you and keep you reading far into the night. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own. ( )