A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith x 2

1998

Weight: 15 oz

Method of Disposal: Giving one to a friend and one to my Mom

This book was recommended to me by a dear friend who I used to work with at Waldenbooks.  I ended up with more than one copy, and I decided to read it while home sick with COVID.  Many years after I was told to read it.  It was great, and I recommend it.  I can see why it is a classic.  It is the story of a working class  Irish American family surviving and living in the city, and it focuses on the young girl, Frankie, who we watch grow up.  Frankie is incredibly lovable, and all the characters in the book are complex and interesting because of it.  Her dad is an alcoholic, but he is not someone we hate, because how could we? Frankie loves him so much, as does his wife and her mom.  They have no money, but the mom has a strong determination and work ethic and moral compass, which she shares with her children.  It is good.  You should try it.

Four Winds

 Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
2021
Weight: 1.62 lbs
Method of Disposal: Giving Away on a Buy Nothing Group

My grandmother gave me this book about a strong, though insecure woman who survives the Dust Bowl with her children and, at least partly, with her in-laws.  It was rough to watch the main character just get beaten down over and over and over and over again.  Sometimes the story seemed to move to fast and then slow down for a stretch before speeding up again.  It wasn't my favorite, but I was invested and interested. I do feel like I learned a little about the desperation of the time in history.  I cared more than I did in history class.

I am amused and horrified by how much some people have turned on the author and the anger they spew, claiming the novel is Communist propaganda.  Some things never change.

Heartland

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh
2018
Weight: 16 oz
Method of Disposal: Leave in a Lending Library

I am shocked by how negative the negative reviewers of this book are when discussing it. People seem to lose sight of the fact that this is a real woman with a real family that she bravely shared with us. They express irritation with what they seem to think is her blaming the system for not taking care of her family. I really think these folks have missed a lot but, even if they were right, what’s with the vehemence?

I guess I should not dwell on that. It is really not the point, and the book was published to high acclaim. With such a bold title, of course it has attracted some loud naysayers. I felt drawn to the story, particularly the women in her family—their resilience and their strength. They have flaws, of course, but we all do and the less we have been able to trust those who say they love us the higher the walls can grow. One thing that rang loud and clear was how much pregnancy could change the trajectory of a young woman’s life and the impact of poverty on generations of people. 

While I was not, myself, overly keen on the author writing this novel to the baby the author never had, I also felt okay about it. That baby that never existed—that she ensured that she would not have—was clearly a big force in her life and a real reason for where she is currently at in life. It makes sense even if it does not speak to me.

I would recommend reading it.

Rosa Lee

Rosa Lee: A Mother and Her Family in Urban America by Leon Dash
1996
Weight: 8.8 oz
Method of Disposal: Give back to mom or lending library

This book was brutal.  It was a window into a world I can clearly see I have no known experience with, and it was hard to face.  The very idea that a mother would feel like she had to sell her own child and that she felt the child had been able to consent in any way is truly shocking to me and what is more shocking is that you cannot just villainize that mother and neatly put her away in a box labeled "terrible."  There is so much more to Rosa's story--good and bad. Rosa Lee's family is so influenced by institutionalized racism that is impossible to even imagine what would have happened to them in a different society or place.

I understand the fear that some people have that this book makes black people look bad, but I definitely disagree.  It is very clear that it does not represent all black people or all poor black people and, if you were ignorant enough to think it truly did, the author clearly writes that it is a thorough case study on just one family and explains why he thinks it is important.  Still, I know that there are many people who would read this story as evidence for whatever they already believe and that is always scary. 

The author writes, "I recognize that there are many ways to look at Rosa Lee.  There is something of her life to confirm any political viewpoint--liberal, moderate, or conservative.  Some may see her as a victim of hopeless circumstances, a woman born to a life of deprivation because of America's long history of discrimination and racism.  Others may give her the benefit of the doubt in some cases but hold her personally accountable for much of what she did to herself, her children, and her grandchildren.  A third group might say that Rosa Lee is a thief, a drug addict, a failed parent, a broken woman paying for her sins, and a woman who seemingly was so set on placing her children on the path to failure that it is amazing that even two of them manage to live conventional lives" (p. 251).

No matter how the reader feels about whether it should have been written or not, there is one thing we should all be able to agree on.  It is heartbreaking from beginning to end.  The destruction the drugs wreaked on this family and this community is unbelievable and frightening.  The individual understanding, accountability, and expectations each hiv-infected person had about their illness, their future, and the future of others around them was eye-opening. 

I could not help but think about myself now aged 32 and Patty Cunningham, Rosa Lee's daughter, being in her thirties in the book and completely addicted to heroine.  Unable to get through a single day without the drug, despite the danger she was in, without jail time.  The sexual abuse she suffered again and again.  We know what happens to Bobby and to Rosa.  I don't know if I want to know, but I cannot help but wonder what happens to Patty and Junior.  I also wonder about the others, of course, about Alvin, Eric, Ducky,Richard, Ronnie, hell, even Mr. Dash.  This appears to be Patty: http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Donna-D.-Wright-86154465.  What did she do until 2009?  I suppose it is none of my business, but I am grateful to the author for taking the time and for Rosa and participating family members for sharing their secrets and their lives.