Little Tin Heart: A Memoir

Little Tin Heart: A Memoir, is about Suzy Kane's coming of age in an often clashing three-culture family: Arab culture from her father's Basra, Iraq, where she, too, was born; American Southern culture in which her mother qualifies for Daughters of the Confederacy as well as Daughters of the American Revolution in her Neosho, Missouri; and American Northeast culture in the author's own Montclair, New Jersey, the suburb of New York, where she grew up and worked so hard to belong.

Why did Kane's parents elope after knowing each other only three days, and why did their elopement make the national papers? Why did her mother keep Kane at arm's length and her father become so "strict"? Was their parenting based on culture, gender, or craziness? When Kane's mother started drinking, what secret was she trying to drown? As unsuccessful as Kane was in trying to save her, how did she discover the truth? How did Kane's experiences affect her concept of God and search for meaning in life?