Smithfield Critics Book Discussion

Full Description A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff because growing up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn, New York demanded fortitude, precociousness, and strength of spirit.  Often scorned by neighbors for her family's erratic and eccentric behavior, such as her father Johnny's taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissy's habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorce, no one could say that the Nolans' life lacked drama.  By turns overwhelming, heartbreaking and uplifting, the Nolans' daily experiences are raw with honesty, tenderness and family connection*