Kari O'Driscoll

Widow: Stories

mandy — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

The collection of stories in Michelle Latiolais’ Widow pull at a common thread – shading, sketching, and putting together a picture of what it is like to walk the Earth as a woman who has lost her husband. While none of these women carry any outward signs of trauma, the lens through which each of them sees the world has shifted, leaving each of them off-kilter. In many cases, the characters are left watching as life unfolds in slow motion before them, experiencing every excruciating detail with a painful clarity and the knowledge that this may not change.

Latiolais’ mastery of storytelling colors each story with a singular kind of grief, even as it offers playfulness, pain, humor, and history. The actions and thoughts of each character are imbued with meaning and weight beyond that of any casual activity. The reader is left with a sense that every choice the widows make has been somehow tagged by the death of her husband and is made in some effort to come to terms with this new view of the world.

The author walks the fine line between becoming morbid and being flippant amazingly well. Each story is told with a measure of respect and reverence, so as to engage the reader in the tale and draw out emotion without weighing so heavily that it is painful to read.

Widow is a book for anyone who has ever been in a loving relationship and felt the sting of separation. Above all, these are poignant stories of humanity, love, and life experience that ring true and leave the reader with a deeper understanding of love and loss.

Written by: Kari O'Driscoll, March 21st 2011

The Incident at New Providence

mandy — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:00:00 +0000

By Olivia Free-Woman

Acacia Publishing

The Incident at New Providence begins with the uncomfortable reunion of two sisters who can fairly accurately be called Country Mouse and City Mouse. At that point, however, any resemblance to a cute children’s story comes to a screeching halt. Olivia Free-Woman has written a story with racism, sexism, sexual abuse, abortion, small town politics, and a lesbian heroine that feels entirely plausible. As with most entertaining fiction, the back story evolves throughout, leaving the reader intrigued without feeling too much in the dark. The action moves the story forward as Terri (City Mouse) discovers things she wishes she hadn’t about some of the people she grew up with, and her big sister Grace struggles to keep her from getting into trouble.

The Incident at New Providence isn’t so much a mystery as a story about two sisters whose reactions to the same childhood trauma took them in entirely different directions. The resentment and misunderstanding between them begins to dissolve as the assumptions they have made about each other for decades are proven wrong. Terri comes to town with the smug notion that she has grown up and moved on while her sister has remained in town to hide from reality. She quickly discovers that Grace possesses a quiet strength that leads her to stand by her convictions and work to make life better for the next generation. While many of the customs of this small town disgust Terri, including the strong divide between Black and White residents, it becomes clear that there is a delicate balance that the town has struck which allows an ugliness to exist beneath the surface.

The only complaint I have about The Incident at New Providence is that I finished reading it too quickly. At 142 pages, it is a slim volume to add to my library, but Free-Woman’s ability to tell such a powerful tale in so small a package is amazing. The author died in 2010 and all proceeds from the book go toward a scholarship fund she established to help elementary students in Phoenix, Arizona go to college.

Written by: Kari O'Driscoll, March 20th 2011

Guardian Spirit

alicia — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Sarah Martin Byrd

Lucky Press

Every good young adult book needs a strong adolescent female heroine, and Guardian Spirit has one in Sadie Madison. Despite the challenges she has faced in her twelve short years, or perhaps because of them, Sadie maintains a resilient, practical core that propels her through her mother’s decision to run away from an abusive husband with Sadie and her younger brother.

The setting of Guardian Spirit is as much a part of the story as the drama that unfolds, offering the reader a vivid look at the mountains of North Carolina and giving the physical surroundings a role in sheltering this family both physically and spiritually. The depiction of the Cherokee people in the more mystical elements of the narrative does seem like a rehash of stereotypes, but nonetheless adds richness and depth as seen through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl who is eager to learn and experience the natural world around her. Sadie discovers that each of her family members has a guardian spirit that watches over them and can help unlock their own special gifts.

Many women who choose to flee their abusers find themselves isolated and frightened, and this is certainly true for the Madisons, but a community of sorts begins to create itself around them as they venture out to meet their practical needs. It is ultimately their willingness to accept help and honor the mysterious signs that continue to present themselves that keeps this family safe.

While there are some difficult themes of abuse and suicide in the book, they are handled with honesty and delicacy and do not detract from the underlying story of this family who is learning to trust that creating a new life for themselves is possible. Guardian Spirit will entertain young adult and adult readers alike with its interesting twist on the issue of domestic violence.

Written by: Kari O'Driscoll, November 5th 2010

Patrick's Wish

alicia — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000

By Rebecca Upjohn, Karen Mitchell

Second Story Press

Patrick's Wish is a true story told from the perspective of a young girl whose brother had a serious illness. It is evident from page one that there was some serious hero worship going on when it came to her older brother, Patrick. The book itself has an almost scrapbook feel to it, with alternating pages of text and photographs from Patrick and Lyanne’s childhood, and it details Lyanne’s eventual discovery that her brother’s illness is terminal.

Patrick, a hemophiliac, contracted HIV from a blood transfusion, and while he and his parents kept this secret for many years, Patrick ultimately decided he needed to share his diagnosis with the rest of his family. As he moved through adolescence with relatively few symptoms, Patrick and his family became active in spreading the word about AIDS and raising money for medical research.

Patrick's Wish chronicles his journey as an active young man who eventually took the incredibly difficult step of educating his peers about HIV and AIDS in an effort to remove some of the stigma from those who suffer from the disease. When Patrick’s body finally succumbed to the effects of AIDS, Lyanne took up the torch and continued her brother’s work.

Patrick's Wish is aimed at children and does an admirable job of using the voice of a young girl to impart its message. Full color photographs help the reader to visualize Patrick and his family as any other family. The “hard science” of the disease itself is explained in a way that is understandable for children. I especially appreciated the HIV/AIDS facts on the last two pages of the book, which provide concrete information about the disease, its transmission, and its treatment.

My eight- and ten-year-old daughters both asked to read Patrick's Wish, which created the perfect opportunity to engage in a discussion about HIV and AIDS. The girls asked whether we knew anyone who was HIV positive and were interested to know whether their schools could benefit from presentations or special education on the disease. The book’s other merits notwithstanding, this gave us more than enough reason to read and recommend Patrick's Wish.

Written by: Kari O'Driscoll, November 4th 2010