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I went into this memoir thinking it would be more along the lines of Cheaper By the Dozen or Life with Father or Mama's Bank Account. A sentimental, light-hearted look at a family from an earlier generation. This was a lot more The Glass Castle than I was expecting.
The author tries her best to downplay what a narcissistic alcoholic her father was but his sociopathy still shines though bright and clear. Maybe if you grew up with a violent abusive parent or were married to a violent, abusive spouse then her stories of him wouldn't sound so egregious and upsetting? Coming from a repressed, WASP-y family where we barely even ever raised out voices, I found the stories of their dad flying into crazy rages unsettling and creepy. He tore the door off the oven during a temper tantrum. He hit their sainted mom so hard she was unconscious and bleeding from the ears. Talk about killing the vibe of a warm loving family.
Their mom, on the other hand, was amazing. Obviously a genius IQ. Such an incurable optimist and a supportive & loving mother. Her one flaw was that she married a complete tool and then wouldn't kick him out of the house. The author tries to half-heartedly rationalize why her mom remained chained to a loser but none of the excuses rang true to me. Just imagine how far their mother would have gone if instead she had married someone her intellectual, emotional, and spiritual peer? What heights could she have soared to? Instead, thanks to birth control being illegal, she gets pregnant by her loser "bad boy" boyfriend and is forced to marry him to "save face". Setting her on the path of unnecessary struggle and hardship. So tragic.
I did enjoy reading all about the national contests back then and the tricks to winning them. There were a lot of lovely stories about the kids and their mom, only marred by the lurking presence of the monster father in the kitchen, drinking all their money away before flying into a rage. I guess the plus side of having a father like that is that the kids all became very close to one another and to their beloved mother. The entire time I was reading the memoir, I was hoping the dad would drop dead. That thought ruined the light read I was looking for.
The author tries her best to downplay what a narcissistic alcoholic her father was but his sociopathy still shines though bright and clear. Maybe if you grew up with a violent abusive parent or were married to a violent, abusive spouse then her stories of him wouldn't sound so egregious and upsetting? Coming from a repressed, WASP-y family where we barely even ever raised out voices, I found the stories of their dad flying into crazy rages unsettling and creepy. He tore the door off the oven during a temper tantrum. He hit their sainted mom so hard she was unconscious and bleeding from the ears. Talk about killing the vibe of a warm loving family.
Their mom, on the other hand, was amazing. Obviously a genius IQ. Such an incurable optimist and a supportive & loving mother. Her one flaw was that she married a complete tool and then wouldn't kick him out of the house. The author tries to half-heartedly rationalize why her mom remained chained to a loser but none of the excuses rang true to me. Just imagine how far their mother would have gone if instead she had married someone her intellectual, emotional, and spiritual peer? What heights could she have soared to? Instead, thanks to birth control being illegal, she gets pregnant by her loser "bad boy" boyfriend and is forced to marry him to "save face". Setting her on the path of unnecessary struggle and hardship. So tragic.
I did enjoy reading all about the national contests back then and the tricks to winning them. There were a lot of lovely stories about the kids and their mom, only marred by the lurking presence of the monster father in the kitchen, drinking all their money away before flying into a rage. I guess the plus side of having a father like that is that the kids all became very close to one another and to their beloved mother. The entire time I was reading the memoir, I was hoping the dad would drop dead. That thought ruined the light read I was looking for.