In my head...and other thoughts.

My thoughts. Simple as that. I'm a Christian. Mom. Wife. Daughter. Friend. Coworker.


Friday, September 23, 2011

Moonlight on Linoleum

Moonlight on Linoleum by Terry Helwig and published by Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster.

If you love a good story about dysfunctional families - then stop what you are doing and read this story!! You will NOT be disappointed. You WILL be amazed at the obstacles these children overcame, the tenacity of the eldest child Terry (the author), and the blatant selfishness of their mother.

Helwig's description and story-telling is so beautifully written you may have trouble remembering that this actually happened - that Helwig most likely had to conjure up buried memories of her childhood that were very hard and difficult.

The story starts out by Helwig's mother, Carola Jean Vacha, telling Helwig that she left her father so that Carola wouldn't kill him. Thus begins the life that Helwig has so graciously shared for us to read about. Her mother, luckily, doesn't murder their father, but does instead gets a divorce and moves out west to Colorado. There Carola meets her second husband in which she has another child, Patricia.

The story continues on, with more babies, more husbands, and always moving to another location. Helwig talks of her mom's rendezvous with many men and her addiction to pain killers. Helwig's devotion to her sisters are shown throughout as well as her dedication.

Helwig might not think of herself as the mother, but throughout the story, we see her taking more control of the family.

I give this story 4.5 stars. Thanks to www.netgalley.com, Simon and Schuster, and Terry Helwig.

1 comment:

Becky's bookshelf: read

The Lovely Bones
5 of 5 stars
This book was sooo good! I really loved reading it. It is about a girl who has been murdered and we join her while she overlooks her family dealing with the aftermath of loosing a daughter/sister/etc. Alice Sebold did very well with this bo...

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