Month: October 2024

What I’m Reading: Baby Darlin’ by Alycia Vreeland

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Baby Darlin’: A Graphic Memoir by Alycia Vreeland (Rated 5) – Raw and Righteous. Baby Darlin’ (BD) grows up in a house full of shit. Literally and figuratively. BD wants to love, to be loved, but is betrayed time and again by those she trusts. Her mother is sick in the head. Papa is kind and funny, but he isn’t around. Grandpa is interesting. He is a painter and BD wants to be a painter too. But Grandpa is also crazy. Grandma is a devout Catholic who shames BD. Only BD’s older cousin, Willy, loves her. She will do whatever he tells her, especially drink. It tastes awful, so she washes it down with root beer. And alcohol makes BD feel great, even if it also makes her throw up. BD also has a secret friend, Ayne de Blu, who “disappears” BD’s body when Pig, who is even grosser than his name, assaults her. Ayne tells BD everything will be OK. But everything is not OK. BD’s drinking becomes uncontrollable. The worst: She loses her son. Things get better when BD meets Jon, the love of her life. He’s a drug addict trying to kick his habit; she’s an alcoholic trying to stay sober. BD suffers unbearable losses: her cousin, her son, her mother, and then Jon. How will she survive? Alone? But she is not alone. BD discovers a Higher Power. But, to this reviewer, the power also resides within BD herself, in the woman named Alycia Vreeland. Telling her saga, Vreeland outs the truth of an abused child in graphic language and painful pictures. As writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admire Vreeland’s courage writing this unrelentingly honest memoir. BD, her alter-ego, does not mince words. She makes readers cringe. We should. She makes us cry. We should. BD provokes outrage. Bravo for her. Listen to her voice; see her in these bold images. Read Baby Darlin’ with a strong stomach and a big heart. Surrender to the power of this amazing book.

A graphic memoir of child abuse

Why writers read: “Books are people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.” – E. B. White

Famous Friends: Clifford and Emily Elizabeth

Clifford, the illustrated children’s book series by Norman Bridwell, proves that a dog is a child’s best friend. Book lovers young and old see the attachment between devoted Emily Elizabeth and exuberant Clifford grow as he develops from a tiny red puppy into an oversized pooch. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Clifford & Emily Elizabeth: A big red dog is a little girl’s best friend

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

Famous Friends: Dwight Eisenhower and Bob Hope

Comedian Hope entertained 11presidents but became friends only with Eisenhower. They hit it off in 1943 when Hope entertained the troops serving under then General Eisenhower in Algiers. When Eisenhower became President 10 years later, they continued to write and play golf. Their wives were also close. Of their wartime meeting, Hope said, “Meeting General Eisenhower in the midst of that deadly muddle was like a breath of fresh air. It quieted us, brought us back to our senses, and in every way paid us for the whole trip.” Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Eisenhower and Hope: The President and the comedian were friends in war and in peace

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

Famous Friends: Andre the Giant and Samuel Beckett

Irish playwright Samuel Beckett moved to a commune in France in 1953, the same year he published Waiting for Godot. Beckett befriended a local carpenter, Boris Roussimoff, whose son would one day become wrestler André the Giant. When the boy, age 12, grew too big for the school bus (he was already 6 feet tall and weighed 250 lbs.), Beckett drove him in his pick-up truck. During their rides, they talked about cricket. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Beckett and Andre: The older literary and the younger physical giant were friends

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship