The Angle of Vanishing Stability: A Novel
by Sally Lee Stewart
A vessel can heel to one side, but at a certain point, it will no longer balance above water—and it capsizes. This is the angle of vanishing stability.
Thea West, a Northern Californian teenager growing up in the late sixties and early seventies, is one of five daughters trying to stay afloat amid the psychologically catastrophic dynamic between her parents—a covert and commanding mother and an ocean-yachtsman father. A talented sailor and businessman, Mr. West suffers from crippling alcoholism, with frequent rages that mask his fragility. Thea longs to know how to sail, but in her world, traversing the water is a skill that belongs only to men, and she’s terrified to ask her larger-than-life father to teach her.
When her father’s demons drive him to a new low, Thea isn’t sure if she can ever learn to forgive. She strikes out from home in search of love and self, running from what she views as the problem—her father and his hold on her family. As Thea falls in and out of affairs, marriages, and jobs, her travels take her from New York to Nicaragua and finally back to California. There, she must reckon with the legacy of her father’s love and failure and decide whether she’ll let her past capsize her future—or if she can finally find balance with a life of her choosing.
5 out of 5 fairies
First, I must admit I was a little worried this would get boring, as we’re getting an intimate look at Thea and her family’s lives, their relationships with each other, and those around them. But this was instead captivating, and a masterfully spun tale. It almost felt odd, being right there, watching it all unfold like I was a ghost floating through their lives, jumping ahead a few years here and there, seeing how places and things changed. The descriptions are just so vivid you lose yourself in all of it, and there were so many times my heart was just breaking, watching these people live and grow together yet not quite be together as well. Thea is a great character, and watching her grow from an uncertain little girl into a strong woman was a beautiful journey. The people who surround her and help shape her are just as important, and we get some insight into each family member, to a different degree. Overall, a wonderful read that will make you laugh and break your heart.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Goodreads
Sally Lee Stewart is a fourth-generation Californian and elementary education specialist. She lives on a cooperatively grazed ten-acre farm in the coastal hills of Northern California and sails on the San Francisco Bay. “The Angle of Vanishing Stability” is her first novel.
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