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SURVIVING HEARTBREAK VALLEY

Name: SURVIVING HEARTBREAK VALLEY
Author: Linda Walls
ISBN: 978-1-4787-5729-0

by Linda Walls ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

An important story of a mother’s loss and the challenges of abuse somewhat hampered by structural issues.

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A memoir of a mother’s tragic loss offers insight into the everyday terrors of domestic abuse.

In 1989, Walls writes, her ex-partner, Bernon Howery, set fire to her home while her four children were sleeping upstairs, and he was convicted in 1991 of four counts of murder. Over the course of her memoir, Walls relates the early days of her relationship with Howery, the escalation in abuse, and her many attempts to rid herself of him. One of the greatest strengths of Walls’ storytelling is her focus on the everyday things that can make escaping abuse incredibly difficult. For example, she writes of her fierce desire to provide for her children and how she had to negotiate a series of compromises when faced with her young son’s sickle cell anemia. She tells of fearing for her own life and taking out life insurance in order to provide for her children in the event that “he murdered me.” Overall, Walls’ story is a moving one. However, the memoir might have benefited from more attention to its structure. The chronological framework does provide readers with a sense of the author’s day-to-day struggles, but it might have been more sharply focused by concentrating on a handful of representative events, instead. Walls’ letters to her children and her own diary entries in the book’s latter half provide valuable emotional insight. However, they might have been more compelling if they were interspersed throughout the narrative. The book’s final chapters offer concrete guidance on dealing with stalking and domestic abuse, which is certainly valuable, but this information could have worked better as a separate publication, providing a clearer distinction between Walls’ memories and advice.

An important story of a mother’s loss and the challenges of abuse somewhat hampered by structural issues.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: 978-1-4787-5729-0

Page Count: 218

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2020

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.