HOUSE OF KAHMANNS

by P. G. Kahmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 14, 2024

Kahmann details a traumatic childhood experience that nearly tore her family apart in this memoir.

“You’ll learn to love winter, I promise,” the author’s mother assured her during their move from Kansas City, Missouri, to a farm in western Minnesota. Devout Roman Catholics, the Kahmann family included 12 children, led by oldest brother, Karl (13 years old at the time of the move) and the author, Patsy (who was 12). The family’s relocation initially appeared to fulfill the idyllic expectations of the author’s parents, as the book’s opening chapter recounts snow-filled afternoons in January 1964 in which the Kahmann siblings played “Davy Crockett” and built elaborate snow forts that resembled the Alamo. It was during that same winter when the author and Karl were called to their school principal’s office, where they were told that their parents had been involved in a catastrophic car wreck and were both hospitalized in critical condition. “It all happened so fast,” she writes, “this shattering of our lives.” Upon arriving home that evening, their kindly, elderly neighbors volunteered to keep watch over the siblings, but a local parish priest rejected their offer because they were not Catholic. Demanding that the children be cared for by Catholic foster parents, Father Gordon Buckley took charge of the children, and they were separated that very night: “One. By. One. Children were ushered out the door,” Kahmann recalls, as each child was placed in a separate car. Much of the rest of the book jumps timelines from before and after “the accident” (the name the family has since given to the singular event that shaped the rest of their lives). The book’s “before” chapters recount loving reminiscences of a tight-knit family who prayed together daily. Stories in these chapters center on mother-daughter memories forged at a sewing machine, and the “witty phrases” and life lessons dispensed by the 1950s-era midwestern parents (“bored people are boring people”). These short, sweet vignettes are juxtaposed with the “after” chapters, which center on the “trauma of torn-apart kids” at the mercy of the foster care system and Father Buckley’s relentless campaign to isolate the children from each other.

The book’s final section discusses what Kahmann calls their family’s “Easter miracle”: After 75 days, and the administration of last rites, the author’s parents were released from the hospital. It was a miracle in more ways than one, as it was later “credibly confirmed” that Father Buckley was a pedophile who targeted vulnerable and isolated children. While at times harrowing, this is ultimately a story of the power of family and a love letter to Kahmann’s parents. In fewer than 170 pages, the concise memoir carefully balances sentimentality with the harsh realities of foster care, abusive priests, and traumatic experiences. The narrative’s asynchronous approach may be disorienting at times, but it ultimately works to create a poignant story of love, loss, and childhood pain. Most of the chapters are no more than five pages long, which makes for an accessible read. The text is accompanied by an assortment of photographs, letters, and family trees to help readers keep track of the many Kahmann children.

A well-written, powerful account of trauma and parental love.

Pub Date: July 14, 2024

ISBN: 9781957331072

Page Count: 176

Publisher: A to Z Letterpress

Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2023

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | SURVIVORS & ADVENTURERS | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR