The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard

The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard

The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard tells the story of a fractured family and how in the darkest of times friends and families can pull together to help one another out. It also tells a story of how out of darkness there can be light it just takes a while to find it. I think this book gives the reader hope and the knowledge that even in the worst situation there can still be small fragments of happiness and joy. It is important to make the most of those small fragments as you never know when they might fade away.

The Breakdown Lane is about a family – Julienne (wife), Leo (husband), Gabe (oldest son), Caroline (oldest daughter) and Aurora (youngest daughter). To all intense purposes they are a happy family but it doesn’t take long for that happiness to shatter into millions of pieces.

One day whilst at a dance class Julienne is unable to move her leg, she ends up dragging it into the position she is trying to perform. Although the lack of use of her leg frightens her enormously at the time she quickly pushes the incident to the back of her mind as a one of. However as the days and then week’s pass by other things happen to make her wonder if she is sick – she forgets words and suffers tremors. She feels tired all the time. She doesn’t tell anyone how she feels afraid that it she tells someone else she feels ill it will become real. She doesn’t have time to be ill she has a family to look after and a newspaper column to write. Julienne is an agony aunt in her local paper.

One day Leo tells Julienne that he wants to take a sabbatical. He will be gone a month, maybe less and he will be in contact all of the time. Julienne is angry that he wants to leave the family behind and go off on his own. For years he has been raving on and on about living a different way of life and perhaps going to live on some kind of commune where all the people are self-sufficient. He has been emailing several people from different communes and wants to go and see first hand how they live. Leo had wanted to opt out once before and take his family with him. Julienne had been dead against the idea and not long after the idea was suggested she had got pregnant with Aurora and that had put an end to the matter. Leo had intimated that she had deliberately got pregnant with Aurora just to thwart his plans. This time round he said he was going and no one was going to stop him.

Whilst he was gone Julienne seemed to get worse but she put this down to Leo being gone and the stress she was under looking after three children single handily and working on her newspaper column. As it was Leo came home quite quickly claiming he missed his family too much to stay away for too long. Julienne thought that was the end of it. Leo had done his thing and seemed happy to be back home with the family but it didn’t take long for him to grow bored with normal life once more.

The next time he announced that he was going off on a sabbatical he told them it would be for six months at least. He promised that he would keep in constant contact with his family and that they would be able to contact him if they needed to in emergency. There was enough money in the bank to keep the family afloat whilst he was away. He would be back soon enough.

Leo wasn’t gone that long when Julienne came down with the flu and ended up in bed for several weeks. She had no energy and couldn’t even get out of bed. Her close friend Cathy took charge of the children and advised Julienne to go and see a Doctor. Cathy had noticed that Julienne hadn’t been very well for ages and that the problem was getting worse not better. Julienne still blamed stress for her condition but by now even she realised that it was something more serious. Julienne had a scan and this revealed that she had MS. This was earth-shattering news for Julienne and the children. She tired to contact Leo on the numbers he had left but could not get hold of him. The Doctors told her that she needed to start a course of drugs that were expensive and came with a long list of side effects. Insurance wouldn’t cover the cost of the drugs so she would have to pay for them herself out of her own money. After taking the drugs she would be ill for two or three days – virtually unable to get out of bed.

Gabe became the primary care giver in the house. He took care of his mother, who couldn’t get out of bed once she had taken her monthly shot. He washed her and changed her sheets when she wet the bed. He looked after his little sister – taking her to school and making sure she was in bed at night. He kept the house as clean and tidy as he could. Gabe was different from most kids. He had learning difficulties, which meant he had to take extra classes at school. His teachers and the other students treated him differently at school. Even his best friend Luke ignored him at school. It wasn’t cool to be seen with a learning difficulties student – it didn’t do much for a person’s credibility.

Gabe did have one good experience that elevated his status at school. An exchange student called Tian took a liking to him and they were very close during her time at the school. Gabe was devastated when she went back home. They promised to keep in touch but Gabe was sure that she would forget about him once she went back home. She was clever and off to Yale, he was just a boy with learning difficulties.

Cathy did her best to keep the family afloat staying over at the house and caring for Julienne. Still no one could get hold of Leo. He wasn’t reachable on any of the emergency numbers that he had left and the bank account that was meant to have enough money in it to keep the family going whilst he was away suddenly became depilated. Julienne had to sell jewellery to pay for her medication. When she was too ill to work on her column for the paper Gabe and Cathy would take charge. In fact Julienne’s editor liked her new style – being blunt and to the point, so much so that they said they were going to syndicate her. Julienne managed to continue giving speeches by using a walking sick to get about.

Leo’s parents were disgusted with their son for leaving the family to go on his sabbatical and were even more horrified when they found out that Julienne was so sick. They turned up unannounced one day and found Julienne in bed in a pool of her own urine unable to get out of bed to greet them. She had been too proud to tell them that she had MS and wasn’t coping too well. They were kind to her and did all they could to help her and the family out. Looking after the children and tidying up the house. They tried to track down Leo but had no luck. Months had passed now with very little contact.

In the end with money so tight Julienne put the house up for sale. As it was they lived in a large house, which was so big that they rented some of the house out to an older couple. When Julienne put the house up for sale the couple said that they would like to buy the house and because they knew how ill Julienne was and the family’s situation they would lease part of the house out to her and her family at no cost. Cathy and her daughter moved in to look after her full time and to help out with money. Cathy’s mother looked after the children when she could to ease the tension at home.

Gabe did his best but he was only a child. He had enough problems of his own. He was victimised at school, not just be the other kids but by the teachers as well who did little to raise his confidence levels making him feel even more of a freak. Caroline was moody and hated looking after her sick mother. She was a typical rebellious teenager – going off out and not returning home. Julienne tried to lay down the rules but from her sick bed that was almost impossible.

With the situation at breaking point Caroline announced to Gabe that she had an idea of where their father was and that she was going to get him back to sort the family out. She had hacked into her father’s emails and knew that he had been emailing several people at two different communes and that she thought that he had to be staying at one of them. She had the whole thing planned out. Gabe wasn’t sure at first but Caroline convinced him that they needed to get their father back home one way or another. Gabe and Caroline told their mother that they were going to visit an aunt over the spring break and she thought it was a good idea. Gabe’s conscience got the better of him and he ended up telling Cathy what they were planning. She was reluctant at first but in the end decided to let them go as long as they promised to contact her on a daily basis to let her know they were safe and well. She gave them her mobile phone and some money.

Gabe and Caroline caught the bus and eventually got a lift to the first commune Leo had been in contact with. There they met a lady who Leo had emailed regularly. She told them that Leo had been there for about a month but had moved on, as the place wasn’t for him. She said that he had too much baggage to be there. She said that he appeared to be hiding and that he needed to sort his personal life out before making a commitment to a place like theirs. Caroline and Gabe were offered a bed for the night and took up the offer. Whilst they’re however Caroline was attacked by a boy that had taken a liking to her and Gabe ended up hitting him over the head with a gun (which he had found in his fathers cupboard and brought with him just in case) and stealing a car to escape in. The police then questioned the pair when they came across them asleep in the car in a lay by. Caroline managed to concoct a lie that enabled them to get to the next commune.

On arrival at the commune they were taken to a brand new house. The person that opened the door was Leo. He looked anything less than thrilled to see his two eldest children on his doorstep. Gabe and Caroline had the shock of their lives when they discovered that Leo was living with another woman called Joy and that she and Leo had a baby called Amos and another child on the way. Leo didn’t seem regretful for what he had done and seemed uninterested in discovering that his wife was so ill and that they had been forced to sell the house to make ends meet. He said that he thought Julienne knew he had left her. Gabe was angry with his father for his non-caring attitude. Caroline however seemed pleased to see her father once again and was taken by the little boy – Amos.

Leo took Gabe and Caroline home, along with the baby – Amos (he said he couldn’t leave Amos at home with Joy as the new pregnancy was hard on her and she couldn’t cope with a baby as well). Julienne seemed pleased at first to see Leo but was horrified to discover that Gabe and Caroline had gone off alone to find him. Leo implied that Julienne was not as sick as Gabe and Caroline had made out and that maybe they were over reacting. When Julienne discovered that Leo, now calling himself Leon, had a new partner and a baby she went mad. He had left her with three children and gone off for months. She had no money and had been forced to sell her jewellery to make ends meet as well as the house. He on the other hand had been making babies with a new woman. Julienne could not believe what he had done and that he didn’t seem sorry for it or regretful. Leo’s parents and Cathy were not much more forgiving towards him and his actions – having seen first hand the state Julienne was in both physically and financially. Caroline seemed the only one in the family to be pleased to see her father once more. Aurora was so young when Leo left that she couldn’t really remember him and got upset when he suggested that she say with him at his hotel.

Leo’s father told Julienne to apply for a divorce from Leo and to demand maintenance for all the children. Leo was upset at this as he didn’t exactly work now and if he had to pay maintenance for his three children then he would need to do some kind of work. His father had no sympathy for him; after all it was his duty to look after his children.

With everything settled Leo went back to the commune. Caroline decided that life on the commune with her father would beat living at home with her sick mother so she packed her stuff and left. Julienne was devastated but Caroline was adamant that she was going and that she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life being a caregiver for her sick mother. Gabe was angry because like Caroline he was just a kid and yet he had been looking after his mother since she got sick. He was the one who changed her sheets when she wet the bed and calmed her down when she got angry or upset. Julienne’s mood swings were quite uncontrollable. She would tell Gabe and Aurora that she hated them and throw all Aurora’s toys in the bin then spend hours crying.

Gabe decided to drop out of school. He wasn’t getting anywhere there and he thought he could spend his time doing something more worthwhile. Julienne was dead against the idea but Gabe said he was quitting and that was that.

Meanwhile Julienne had written a poem about her current state of life, the poem had been published in a magazine and had been seen by an old boyfriend of hers (Matt) who was now a top specialist in the medical profession. He contacted Julienne and they chatted for hours on the phone. Julienne liked talking to him, as it was an escape from her real life. She never told him she was suffering from MS as she thought that would put him off of her. One day however he said he was going to pop by and visit as he was in the area. Julienne made a whole long list of excuses as to why he couldn’t visit. She eventually blurted out that she had MS. He said he had known for sometime that she had the condition. One day when he had called the house he had spoken to her father-in-law as she was too ill to pick up the phone and he had told him all about her condition. Julienne was amazed that he still wanted anything to do with her.

Matt came to the house and met with Julienne and Gabe. They had a good time and he visited a few more times. Matt spent his life re-building children’s faces. One day Julienne received an invitation from Matt to a party at his house. Julienne was reluctant to go, as she didn’t want to socialise in case she embarrassed herself or Matt. Plus it would mean a short flight and she wasn’t sure she was well enough for that. Cathy forced her into going telling her that the trip would do her good.

On arrival Julienne discovered that Matt lived in a huge mansion. Matt had a daughter; his wife had died of cancer several years a go. Matt appeared to be rich. Julienne was tired on arrival at Matt’s house so went to bed. She slept for ages and when she woke up feared she had missed the start of the party. Matt told her not to rush. Julienne got dressed only to discover that she hadn’t packed her shoes. Matt said it didn’t matter and took Julienne into the other room where the table was set for just two people. Matt said the party was a just for the two of them, there were no other guests. Julienne and Matt kissed and then he took her into the bedroom where they made love. Julienne told Matt that she had thought that romance was out of the question for her now because of the MS. She didn’t think anyone would find her attractive as she had MS let alone want to have sex with her.

The next morning Matt proposed to Julienne and she said yes. They went back home via the commune where Leo lived with Joy and his new family and Caroline. Caroline looked upset and tired – Julienne was sure that Caroline was unhappy living on the commune and that perhaps the grass wasn’t as green on the other side of the fence as Caroline had thought it was going to be. Leo seemed shocked that Julienne was getting married again but congratulated her anyway. Caroline still seemed angry with her mother and said very little although her body language suggested that she was trying to reach out to her mother and rebuild their connection. Gabe was happy for his mother although the news did come as a bit of a shock. He already had one father who was a waste of space he didn’t need another father figure in his life to mess it up.

Matt arranged for the wedding to take place in Las Vegas. He paid for all the family to travel to Las Vegas and stay the night in the hotel they were due to get married in. He tried to get Caroline to attend the wedding but she didn’t turn up in the end. Gabe had the shock of his life when he opened the door of his hotel room and found Tian waiting for him there. Matt had arranged for her to come to the wedding and spend the night with Gabe.

The story ends with Julienne and Matt getting to know one another, they had after all got married very quickly still not knowing a lot about one another. Gabe was getting his life together, continuing his studies once again after some prompting and encouragement from Matt. Caroline left the commune and went to live with Joy’s sister were she was trying to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer. Matt and Julienne adopted a child who Matt had treated and were bringing up as their own. The MS seemed to have gone into remission but Julienne and Matt knew that any day it could return and this time it might leave Julienne in a wheelchair or worse but they would deal with that together if and when it happened.