Post #39 – Women’s Memoirs, Book Raves – Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett
Reviewed by Michelle Rockwell
At the age of 41, Susan Parker confronts the end of her marriage, her sexual orientation, thoughts of suicide, and her faith. This is a memoir that takes an honest look at the forces of family, faith, and gender, which shape all of us.
Walking in the Deep End reveals a childhood spent treading water in a sea of uncertainty, family secrecy, and unasked questions:
“The fact that the grown-ups were not talking about the way my dad had grown increasingly distant had made me pause in the hall, alert whenever Mom talked on the phone or tried to reason with Dad. I wanted to understand how this new version of my father had replaced the one who told corny jokes and offered me pocket change for baseball cards and candy. His vacant eyes left me wondering whether he still cared about his family—or about me” (p.9).
As a result, Susan Parker relied on her alter ego, Super Susan, to shoulder the responsibility of looking after her mentally ill, and often suicidal, father. As she matured through her teens and on into adulthood, her need for control, stability, and quest for perfection resulted in a long battle with bulimia.
The serious topic of suicide is tempered by humor:
“Mom asked me to watch Ann and then turned to Dad, ‘Dick, why don’t you go ahead and take a seat?’ Mom said to him. I hated it when she called him ‘Dick.’ Why couldn’t she call him Rich or Richard or Melvin, for that matter? Anything but D-I-C-K! Didn’t people her age know what that meant?” (p.14).
I would suggest this memoir to writers who are challenged by incorporating multiple complex issues within a single story. I would recommend this memoir to anyone seeking a unique and honest read. Susan Parker projects a genuine voice that sings through a range of unconventional experiences, wrapped within a single story, in a way that all readers will be able to connect with and reflect upon. To learn more about Susan and Walking in the Deep End visit her website.
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Michelle Rockwell is currently writing her memoir.
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