My Name is Lucy Barton

Elizabeth Strout’s New York Times bestselling novel My Name is Lucy Barton follows the titular character on a journey of healing. Published in 2016, My Name is Lucy Barton explores the impact of trauma as Lucy navigates her reunion with her estranged mother. Longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, My Name is Lucy Barton was adapted for the stage as a one-woman show featuring acclaimed actress Laura Linney in 2018 and 2020. Strout’s novel employs a series of episodic vignettes that offer a nuanced exploration of what it means to truly heal.

Plot Summary

Lucy Barton, a writer and mother, recovers from complications from her appendix surgery in a 1980s New York City hospital with a view of the Chrysler Building. Isolated from her daughters and husband William, Lucy reunites with her estranged mother, who flies in from rural Amgash, Illinois, to care for Lucy. William has called Lucy’s mother and asked her to help. Lucy and her mother struggle to reconnect as they avoid discussing the abuse and trauma Lucy experienced as a child. Lucy’s mother attempts to entertain Lucy with gossip from their hometown.

Lucy recalls the harsh poverty that isolated her family and the abuse she and her siblings faced because of their father’s untreated post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in World War II. Lucy’s mother tells her the story of Kathie Nicely, a wealthy friend who left her husband and children for another man only to be abandoned by her lover. Lucy empathizes with Kathie.

In Chapter 4, Lucy remembers how she would escape the brutal cold of her family’s one-room garage home by staying longer at school and reading. She aspires to be a writer from a young age and, eventually, earns a full scholarship to a college outside of Chicago. In college, Lucy meets William, the son of a German man. Lucy and William travel to Amgash to introduce William to her family and announce their plans to marry and move to New York City. Lucy’s father rejects William because of his German lineage. Lucy later learns her father killed two innocent German boys during the war and is consumed by his guilt.

Estranged from her family, Lucy moves to New York City to begin a new life with William. They have two daughters named Chrissie and Becka. Lucy publishes two stories in small literary magazines. Lucy forms a deep friendship with a neighbor named Jeremy, a psychoanalyst who encourages Lucy to call herself an artist and advises her to be ruthless. In a local store, Lucy meets an accomplished writer named Sarah Payne, whose books Lucy has read. Sarah’s writing about rural New Hampshire resonates with Lucy.

Chapter 8 returns to Lucy’s recovery in her hospital room. Lucy and her mother continue to struggle to communicate. Lucy seeks validation from her mother and shares the news about her publications. When her mother does not respond, Lucy finds comfort in her kind doctor. In Chapter 9, Lucy details how her father would lock her in his truck for entire days while her parents worked. The sound of children crying triggers Lucy’s traumatic memories. Lucy’s mother later apologizes for how poor they were. She shares her concerns for Lucy’s brother, who lives at home and reads books for adolescents, and Lucy’s sister, who is always angry.

Lucy continues to receive more tests at the hospital. She and her mother read a gossip magazine together. Lucy begins to grow more resentful of her mother’s inability to acknowledge the abuse in their household.

In Chapter 20, Lucy flashes back to a panel she attends where Sarah Payne speaks about fiction. Sarah’s words inspire Lucy to begin writing her story, which she includes in the novel. Back at the hospital, Lucy tries to hide her distress because of her mother’s aversion to crying. Her kind doctor comforts her and wipes away a tear.

In another flashback, Lucy attends a writing workshop taught by Sarah in Arizona. Lucy shows Sarah pieces of her novel. Sarah encourages Lucy to keep writing. At the hospital, Lucy remains unnerved by her mother’s inability to confront the truth. Lucy evokes a memory of her father publicly parading her brother around town in women’s clothing as punishment for cross-dressing. In the hospital scenes, Lucy’s mother shares stories about a wealthy woman from their town whose husband has an affair and causes her to have a heart attack. This story distresses Lucy.

On her mother’s last day, Lucy asks her mother if she loves her. Overwhelmed, her mother refuses to answer. Later that day, the doctor informs Lucy that she may need surgery. Unable to cope, Lucy’s mother abruptly abandons Lucy and leaves to return to Amgash. Devastated, Lucy waits in a hallway to be taken for testing. She locks eyes with a patient dying from AIDS and feels comforted.

Lucy does not need additional surgery and stays in the hospital for nine weeks. After writing a letter thanking her mother for coming to see her, Lucy receives a card from her mother with the Chrysler building on it. Upon returning home, Lucy learns that her beloved neighbor Jeremy has died of AIDS. She wonders if the man she saw in the hospital could have been Jeremy.

In the years that follow, Lucy continues to see her doctor for check-ups until he retires. In Chapter 39, Lucy unveils that, during her childhood, her father would masturbate compulsively in front of her. Nine years after her mother’s visit to New York, Lucy travels to Illinois to visit her mother on her death bed. Lucy sees her father for the first time in many years and no longer feels any anger or resentment. Shortly after her arrival, Lucy’s mother asks her to leave forever. Lucy acquiesces but declares her love for her mother before leaving. Lucy returns a year later to say goodbye to her father, who dies from pneumonia.

Lucy struggles after her parents’ deaths but soon finds success with her first published book. When her daughters leave for college, Lucy decides to divorce her husband and resists any financial support from William. Lucy remarries a professional cellist with a similar upbringing. Lucy reflects on her growth. She believes she has followed Jeremy’s advice and been ruthless.

After her divorce, Lucy struggles to connect with her daughters, who are hurt by her decision to leave. Lucy and her daughter Becka watch the events of 9/11 happen on the television screen. Becka calls for her, and Lucy comforts her. Lucy reflects on how much she has grown and feels at peace. She ends the novel by remembering the beautiful sunsets in Amgash.