"Along the oceanfront at dusk, my friends drag me past the fern bars and wet T-shirt contests to catch up to the aerobic pulse from the disco ahead ,which we call 'flashback' because-his flashing lights leave you with a psychedelic impression of dancing dots when you come back onto the street."
Description:
"At the age of three, Eileen Cronin first realized that only she did not have leg. Her boisterous Catholic family accepted her situation as 'God's Will,' treating her no differently than her ten siblings as she 'squiddled' through their 1960s Cincinnati home. But starting school, even wearing prosthetics, Cronin had to brave bullying and embarrassing questions. Thanks to her older brother's coaching, she handled a classmate's playground taunts with a smack from her lunchbox. As a teen, thrilled when boys asked her out, she was confused about what sexuality meant for her. She felt most comfortable and happiest relaxing and skinny dipping with her girlfriends, imaging herself ' an elusive mermaid.' The cause of her disability remained taboo, however, even as she looked toward the future and the possibility of her own family.
In later years, as her mother battled mental illness and denied having taken the drug thalidomide--known--to cause birth defects--Cronin felt apart from her family. After the death of a lose brother, she turned to alcohol. Eventually, however, she found the strength to set out on her own, volunteering at hospitals, and earning a PhD in clinical psychology.
Reflecting with humor and grace on her youth, search for love, and quest for answers, Cronin spins a shimmering story of self discovery and transformation." -- from the inside flap
My thoughts:
I liked this book about growing up strong despite having missing limbs due to thalidomide. Cronin doesn't let anything get in her way and her determination to live her life fully is an inspiration.
Date read: 8/23/2015
Book #:22
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Memoir
ISBN-10: 0393089010
ISBN-13: 9780393089011
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Year: 2014
# of pages: 334
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page
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