The Family Code tells the story of a family involved with Canada's child welfare system. Wayne Ng obviously has experience with the system as his tale is such an accurate portrayal of the problems within the system, the legacy of trauma, and the experiences of the people who work within or are involved with child welfare. Often, families and child welfare workers are portrayed as clear villains or heroes and this book delves into the nuance. No one is perfect and unlikely people show up to support the family and become safe adults for a child caught in the middle. Rather than making the parent the enemy or someone on a clear course to redemption, Ng shows the ups and downs of addiction, bad choices, hard work, and likely mental illness.
As someone who worked inside the system, I know that we often are only witness to part of the story. Our involvement ends not when the happily ever after begins, but rather when the immediate crisis is over. I have never read a book that epitomizes that experience as well as this one. Ng brought this story to life in a way that felt incredibly authentic and I highly recommend this book.

Ng is a master of character. As I closed out this book, I read Ng's bio at the end and it mentioned he was a school social worker - it all clicked together at that point. In this novel, Ng follows Hannah and her son Axel. They are are working with the Canadian children/social services system. We learn about Hannah's upbringing and see how it impacts her parenting and how her parenting is already impacting Axel. Ng is so balanced in giving us insight into Hannah's mind as well as Axel's increasing our understanding of inter-generational trauma. This novel is the epitome of two things can be true at the same time and supports a nuanced understanding of what others may be going through. Not providing excuses, but simply giving greater understanding to those who haven't had a life experience.