A History of Loneliness

Many of you may be familiar with author John Boyne's previous works, among them The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a moving young adult novel about the Holocaust that was made into a film a few years ago. He's prolific, having written nine adult novels and five for young adults. Boyne has expanded his body of work profoundly with his newest adult novel, A History of Loneliness. This one is set in Boyne's native Dublin and spans the period of recent Irish history in which Catholic priests went from revered and sought after, to hated and villified at the peak of the child abuse scandals that swept the country and indeed the world. The story is told through the eyes of Father Odran Yates, who is a humble and well-meaning priest caught up in the whirlwind of scandal, not because of any direct misbehavior on his own part, but by his unknowing ignorance of signs and signals on which he probably should have acted. His torment is palpable, and as a reader I could feel it, and feel his shame and remorse and empathy for the victims. Boyne is a remarkable writer. At no point does he rationalize or excuse the behavior of abusive priests, but he does make some attempt to humanize them. And he pulls no punches in condemning the Church leaders for their habit of ignoring such issues and instead moving priests around, as if they thought the "problem" would go away. It is indeed heartbreaking to consider the number of young lives ruined. But with Boyne's sensitive and beautiful writing, we can now see how innocent, good priests like Odran Yates were also made to suffer for the wrongdoings of their colleagues. Highly recommended.

ETCHED IN SAND by Regina Calcaterra

Regina Calcaterra's emotionally powerful memoir reveals how she endured a series of foster homes and intermittent homelessness in the shadow of the Hamptons, and how she rose above her past while fighting to keep her brother and three sisters together.

 Regina and her four siblings survived extreme abuse and neglect at the hands of their mentally ill mother. Cookie was a woman who "left behind scorched earth" wherever she went. Unstable, promiscuous and violently abusive, she had five children by five different men. Chaos and instability reigned throughout Calcaterra's childhood. Early on, Cookie left the children with relatives or took them to live with new boyfriends. But as her alcoholism and mental illness worsened, she left them in homeless shelters, trailers, parking lots, run-down apartments or houses and then vanished, often for weeks or months at a time.

To survive, they stole food and clothes. They lied about their mother's whereabouts, as well as the burns, bruises and scratches that appeared on their bodies when she was home. Calcaterra emancipated herself at age 14 and reluctantly went to live with foster parents.  Woven into the narrative is Calcaterra’s search to discover the identity of her birth father, a man who resisted acknowledging that he is her parent; this conflict led to a landmark court decision in the state of Washington over an adult child’s right to an accurate determination of paternity; it also led to a touching reunion with other members of her birth father’s family.

Beautifully written and heartbreakingly honest, Etched in Sand is an unforgettable reminder that regardless of social status, the American dream is still within reach for those who have the desire and the determination to succeed.

My Favorite Cashew

Carroll County, Indiana resident C.B. Anderson, who we know locally as Cindi Anderson, has written a memoir of her husband, Dr. Tom Anderson (Doc Anderson), a beloved country doctor. Doc was not your typical doctor but was one who charged little, sometimes nothing. He wanted to be a doctor, not to make lots of money, but to merely help. And that he did! (Doc passed away in 2008).

The story is written for several reasons. Yes, to honor Doc but also for the purpose of  encouragement to any who have suffered and are yet suffering from being sexually abused as a child. This book shows how such horrific childhood abuses, on any scale, stay with you for a lifetime!  Cindi also wrote to encourage any suffering from bipolar disorder, as Doc. himself did. 

C.B. Anderson, in My Favorite Cashew,  is honest and real as she shares their years of mariage, Doc's grieving for the love he felt he missed as a child, their country-style existence, and the ups and downs of depression and sorrow from childhood trauma.  It's a memoir and it's special.  

This book comes electronically and in paper and is available at the Delphi Public Library.