Marcia Williams grew up neither wanted nor loved. Important life choices followed: leaving home at sixteen, college, career, first husband, and even that lover. At age fifty-six she must either lead the life her mother wanted or escape the dysfunction and light out on her own. What Williams discovers in the process, along with her own self-worth, helps her recognize her mother's passionate desire for legitimacy in a swirl of generational trauma. Departures charts the pain of parental decisions felt across decades, and how Williams chose life out of turmoil.