Long Bright River

In studying the drug culture of Kensington, the novel examines the problem through the experiences of Mickey and Kacey. To a casual observer, their lives start out in an identical fashion. Both are born to a drug-addicted mother who dies when Kacey is two years old. Both are raised by their resentful grandmother, Gee. However, the sisters make wildly divergent choices that result in tragedy for one and a stable future for the other.

The author seems to be revisiting the old nature-nurture argument in trying to decide what force is ultimately responsible for the way that the sisters’ lives turn out. At one point, Kacey is complaining that her lot in life is so much harder than Mickey’s. The latter is baffled by this remark:

I looked at her, blinking, and said to her as levelly as I could that I grew up in the same household as she did. My implication, of course, was that it is the decisions that I have made in life that have placed me on my specific path—decisions, not chance (77).

However, the explanation becomes more nuanced as more details of Kacey’s past emerge. Both Mickey and the reader later learn that Kacey was born addicted to heroin while Mickey was not. Further, Mickey has positive memories of her mother’s love that Kacey does not share because she is too young to remember them. The author seems to be implying that chemical dependency and lack of maternal emotional grounding are what cause Kacey to spiral downward while Mickey does not. At the same time, the story also implies that no matter how much of an uphill battle Kacey must face, she still needs to make the choice of a better life for herself.

While it’s clear that Kacey is more affected by the cycle of addiction because of her early physical exposure to heroin as a baby, we also see that the Kensington mindset, and the mindset of those closest to the sisters, also inhibits their growth. For example, Gee’s lack of affection appears again in the way that Mickey parents Thomas—“[E]ven acknowledging my gratefulness for Thomas too frequently in my thoughts—seems to me to be a kind of jinx, an invitation, an open window through which some creature might come in the night and spirit him away” (217)—and Mickey must fight her inclination to keep her feelings to herself. Mickey’s early attempts to climb out of poverty were likewise thwarted, as Gee refused to sign for scholarships. Mickey is able to make her own way, despite these obstacles, but she falls into difficult situations along the way, such as her relationship with Simon.