“May you live in interesting times” is meant as a curse but seems to be a blessing too if you are thinking of writing a riveting memoir. That and a remarkable memory for events long past. Shawna’s upbringing was chaotic, peripatetic, and both loving and violent. Her kin on both sides were from Appalachia, with all that that has come to signify in the popular perception. In addition to growing up in eastern Kentucky, her family also spent some of her formative years far north in Minnesota along the shores of Lake Superior where her father, Roy, moved the family to live in a religious community that many would consider a cult. A bright man, both his abusive upbringing and his tour of duty in Vietnam left him damaged emotionally. Shawna, older than her sister Misti, is also bright, and rebellious as well, unlike her more docile sister. That she and her father would be at war with each other throughout her entire growing up years was probably inevitable. In addition, she suffered sexual abuse at a young age from an older member of The Body, the religious group her father has joined, and this seems to have led her to a promiscuous adolescence and a string of bad decisions. The hills and mountains she loves have also been abused, by strip mining and environmental destruction, and their people by poverty and industry-induced diseases. Perhaps a bit longer and more detailed than strictly necessary, but a story of perseverance and resilience in the face of great odds. 328 pp.
No comments:
Post a Comment