SUMMARY:
Christopher and Susy decided to get married, but the did not have a wedding. In Montana, you did not need witnesses just a judge to say you were married and that's all. The two of them got a dog named Ruby that they had to train with professional help. Their friends joked they were practicing for parenthood. But Christopher did not want children. When the two of them found out they were pregnant, they spent 3 days deciding whether to keep the baby or end the pregnancy. They decided on the abortion, but even when they did decide, they still had to wait until she was 7 weeks so the clinic could go along with the procedure. Susy voiced her opinion, she wanted the baby, she wanted to be a mom but Christopher just wasn't ready yet. After the abortion, she felt terrible. She didn't want to get out of the bed or eat, all she wanted to do was sleep. Five months later while on their way to visit Christopher's parents, he was finally ready to be a dad. Susy was ecstatic. She was completely happy until she realized that if he would have decided that the 3 days they waited in making the decision or in the 10 days they needed to wait for her to reach 7 weeks, they would have had a baby in 2 months time. Getting over that grieve led her to becoming a counselor at the rival clinic she got her abortion at. She felt it to be the right thing to do she had the abortion to be a better parent n the future and that's what she plans on telling her children when they ask.
Susy and Christopher had gotten pregnant soon after he decided he wanted to become a father. Her and her mother were both in New York and Susy got showered with present for the baby by her mom who wanted to give Susy and the new baby everything. She was in labor 57 hours before she delivered a baby boy they named Daniel. They called everybody, Daphne being first, to tell them about their exciting news. But they called Christopher's mom to help with the newborn saying they needed "help that helped". Daphne did not get to see the baby until he was 6 weeks old but she always sent him cards for every special day n his life. When he was 18 months old, Daphne came with her husband and lied her way into getting pain killers for herself the second she got off the plane. She didn't speak to her mom about the situation but rather wrote a letter but never heard back from her. The two of them had another boy named Jack and she tried to be the best parent to the two boys that she could.
In the final chapter Susy says she saved ever letter her mother has ever written her to try to make sense of the reasoning behind the things her mother did to her over the years. She called Paul to ask if he and her mother really had sex on her bed the first day of high school for Susy and he said no. She called Martin and asked if he really had sex with Daphne that night when he was suppose to be visiting her at college. She believed them two, saying they felt at home in their stories. Susy remembered back to a time when she was 15 and she went to Greece on a school trip and her mother drove 70 miles to get feta cheese for Susy so she could make the salad Susy said she loved so much. She remembered a time when she was 9 and sick in her mom's bed when she saw somebody out in their living room. Daphne came to investigate and came back to tell Sue to get back in the tub and wait until he was gone. She said she let him do whatever he wanted so that he would not go after Sue and not hurt her. She remembered a time when she was 8 and she got her first room with her younger sister. She did what she wanted until her mom came in and told her to go to bed. One night when Daphne went out and came home late, she went to say goodnight to Sue and had a seizure on top of her. She remember a time when she was 3 in Provincetown when after a bath Daphne wrapped her in a towel and carried her to warmth. Something she does with her sons now, stating "It's a single moment in parenting in which I'm certain I am doing right," (Sonnenberg, 267). For two weeks after her mom's accident she kept telling herself she was going to be okay and that Daphne won't die, which she didn't, after surgeries she made a long and sad recovery. Penelope stayed by her the whole time. Susy and Penelope did not talk for a whole year after their mother's recovery. Finally after a year of not speaking she went to New York and explained why she did not go and to see her father because she just enjoyed his company. It ended with susy explaining that when she gets back to Missoula she will be greeted by her dog, husband and two sons and wake up laughing.
QUOTE:
"New York streets weren't home to me anymore," (Sonnenberg, 271).
REACTION:
This quote shows how Susy is now at home and peaceful with the decisions she's made in her life because it led her to where she is now. Now she has a wonderful husband, two loving sons and experiences that make her an author of work that people will be interested in reading. Susy told Penny she made a mistake in not going to her mom in her time of need but at the same time, I would not hold this against Susy for any reason at all. SHe never told us how Penny was as an adult, but when the two of them where younger Susy did everything for her and Penny needed this experience to help her grow a little as a person. This book was very detailed and it allowed me to go throw the emotions that Susanna was feeling at the moment the event happened.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Her Last Death (150-208)
SUMMARY:
It was parent's weekend and Daphne came to college to see how Susanna was doing in college. Susy had a roommate named Amy and once Daphne got there she began talking to Amy about her life and if she had a boyfriend. Daphne got Amy to confess about her boyfriend and Susy has been rooming with her and has never heard anything about the guy. Daohne suggests that Amy go on some type of birthcontrol and when Amy's parents got there, Daphne brought up the sensitive subject again. Amy's parents where shocked and before Susy knew it, she had a room to herself.
Daphne had been going out with Jason for a long time when a friend of Susy's from highschool, Martin, came to her college for a visit. Her mom came that weekend too. They were all suppose to hang out at Susy's dorm when Daphne convinced Martin to take her to get drinks when they ended up back at the place Martin was staying at. They slept together, and Susy was upset. Her motherr always found a way to mees with her emotionally.
During her last year in college, Susy met a guy in her writing class named Noah. Thet had begun dating quickly and then she founf out that he enjoyed gambling. Susy began to feel he was not paying that much attention to her so she found other ways to fufil her attention needs. She began to cheat on him. She slept with everyone and anyone but still put on the facade that everything was fine between them and even propused to him. He bought her a ring, a ring that Susy and Daphne oicked out, and went through with what every the two women said. A coupke months before the wedding, she continued sleeping with others and he continued gambling away their money. The last thing he said to her was, "you can keep the ring I was forced to buy you" (Sonnenberg, 175).
While in New York, Susy met a man from London. Their relationship began quick, and the first couple of months were great, he was sweet, thought and caring. They took vacations to the most exotic places and they deemed to be going good. They moved into a flat in New York together and whenever somebody asked aboaut the lavish things they had he told them the company bought it. They hosted parties and socialized and through the whole relatiopship, she never cheated, ever. Finally things began to change, and Susy began picking up on them. One night after they had slept together he told her, "I don't love you," (Sonnenberg, 181). She did not know what she did but in the end it was nothing she did but rather he found a new woman, Chealse. She felt it was not suppose to end like this, she was always the other woman.
Susanna got a job with a mopvie producer that moved her to California. She had that job for a while but they eventually fired her because she became proccupied with things that were worrying her all over the place. Her mother called and said they found a lump in both her breast and her ovary. When that started to alter her work performance, they let her go. On the first day she was back in New York, she ran into her friend Nathalie and her husband. They meet for food and drinks that later led to their home and eventually their bed. That's where Susy alwasy ended up.
She moved to Povincetown for the winter to work on her writing. There she met a man named Christopher, who at first was not her type but for some reason found herself attracted to him. He wanted to take things slow and Susy just wanted to do what came natural to her. He made her wait a whole 2 weeks before they slept together. Things became srious and the two of them moved to Montana after visting his family in Utah. hile in Montana she slept with one more woman and flirted with a lot of men but told Chriatopher everything. She said she likes the feeling of knowing he was telling the truth.
QUOTE:
"Come on, Susy! THey have to face the fact that the daughter is an adult now," (Sonnenberg 153).
REACTION:
I fopund this quote interesting, because Daphne was ready to put her daughter on birth control at the age of 16. Susy wants an adult then. Also it shows how the parenting styles differ from family to family but Daphne's is crazy and unexpected. This quote for me feels like a contridiction because Daphne is saying how Amy is now an adult so her parents have to expected but Daphne forced adulthood onto her daughter and made Susy accept it.
It was parent's weekend and Daphne came to college to see how Susanna was doing in college. Susy had a roommate named Amy and once Daphne got there she began talking to Amy about her life and if she had a boyfriend. Daphne got Amy to confess about her boyfriend and Susy has been rooming with her and has never heard anything about the guy. Daohne suggests that Amy go on some type of birthcontrol and when Amy's parents got there, Daphne brought up the sensitive subject again. Amy's parents where shocked and before Susy knew it, she had a room to herself.
Daphne had been going out with Jason for a long time when a friend of Susy's from highschool, Martin, came to her college for a visit. Her mom came that weekend too. They were all suppose to hang out at Susy's dorm when Daphne convinced Martin to take her to get drinks when they ended up back at the place Martin was staying at. They slept together, and Susy was upset. Her motherr always found a way to mees with her emotionally.
During her last year in college, Susy met a guy in her writing class named Noah. Thet had begun dating quickly and then she founf out that he enjoyed gambling. Susy began to feel he was not paying that much attention to her so she found other ways to fufil her attention needs. She began to cheat on him. She slept with everyone and anyone but still put on the facade that everything was fine between them and even propused to him. He bought her a ring, a ring that Susy and Daphne oicked out, and went through with what every the two women said. A coupke months before the wedding, she continued sleeping with others and he continued gambling away their money. The last thing he said to her was, "you can keep the ring I was forced to buy you" (Sonnenberg, 175).
While in New York, Susy met a man from London. Their relationship began quick, and the first couple of months were great, he was sweet, thought and caring. They took vacations to the most exotic places and they deemed to be going good. They moved into a flat in New York together and whenever somebody asked aboaut the lavish things they had he told them the company bought it. They hosted parties and socialized and through the whole relatiopship, she never cheated, ever. Finally things began to change, and Susy began picking up on them. One night after they had slept together he told her, "I don't love you," (Sonnenberg, 181). She did not know what she did but in the end it was nothing she did but rather he found a new woman, Chealse. She felt it was not suppose to end like this, she was always the other woman.
Susanna got a job with a mopvie producer that moved her to California. She had that job for a while but they eventually fired her because she became proccupied with things that were worrying her all over the place. Her mother called and said they found a lump in both her breast and her ovary. When that started to alter her work performance, they let her go. On the first day she was back in New York, she ran into her friend Nathalie and her husband. They meet for food and drinks that later led to their home and eventually their bed. That's where Susy alwasy ended up.
She moved to Povincetown for the winter to work on her writing. There she met a man named Christopher, who at first was not her type but for some reason found herself attracted to him. He wanted to take things slow and Susy just wanted to do what came natural to her. He made her wait a whole 2 weeks before they slept together. Things became srious and the two of them moved to Montana after visting his family in Utah. hile in Montana she slept with one more woman and flirted with a lot of men but told Chriatopher everything. She said she likes the feeling of knowing he was telling the truth.
QUOTE:
"Come on, Susy! THey have to face the fact that the daughter is an adult now," (Sonnenberg 153).
REACTION:
I fopund this quote interesting, because Daphne was ready to put her daughter on birth control at the age of 16. Susy wants an adult then. Also it shows how the parenting styles differ from family to family but Daphne's is crazy and unexpected. This quote for me feels like a contridiction because Daphne is saying how Amy is now an adult so her parents have to expected but Daphne forced adulthood onto her daughter and made Susy accept it.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Her Last Death (105-149)
SUMMARY:
These two chapters begins the summer between Susy's sophmore and junior year in highschool. She spends the summer in Taos, where her mother bought a house. Over that summer, Susy turned 16 and before her birthday had gotten there all Daphne could talk about was Susy losing her virginity. Her birthday had finally come and Daphne took her to the bar to see a band member that had been watching her recently. Daphne said he liked her. Daphne and her daughters moved closer to the stage so they could have a better look at him and he a better look at Susy. Before the night was over Daphne told her to take Penny home and she would make sure Theo would come home with her so he would be her first. When Susy got home she picked up around the house and moved from laying down to sitting up to her room and the living room. She couldn't decide which way she wanted to be when he entered the house with her mom. Eventually she feel asleep and when she woke up, she heard Daphne sleeping with Theo in the next room. Fed up with her mom always taking wait she wants, Susy lied to her mom after her betrayal and said she lost her virginity to Lincoln a couple of days later.
Susy no longer was going to go to the boarding school out East but now she was going to be in Colorado attending boarding school with Penny. She developed a crush on her English teacher Dr. Crawford, a married man. Everybody knew about her crush and they playfully teased her about it. When Dr. Crawford found out, at first he felt uncomfortable with it however as time went on the two of them started an affair. He took her virginity and made her promise she would not tell anything to anybody because he could lose everything. He claimed he was happily married. Susy went to Wyatt's, Dr. Crawford, house on multiple occasion and the two of them would not even look at each other for more than a couple of seconds when his wife was around regardless of what they were doing in her house. Their affair continued until Susy went to Boston for college and even continued even though Mrs. Crawford found out about the affair. After the affair was done and over with, she told her mother, at first she wanted to know every single detail but then began ranting and raving that she was a liar and good for nothing.
QUOTATION:
"You're making it up. You're making it up. I sat rattled and blinking on the edge of my bed, which felt like the world's edge. Had I made it up?" (Sonnenberg, 149).
REACTION:
The context where the quote was taken from startled me. I was shocked that her mom was finding out about her teenaged daughter 2 year long affair and what Daphne really wanted to know was how he touched her and what it felt like. For about 2 seconds she acted like a mom, trying to press charges but that idea left her mind as quick as it came. Where was Penelope when her affair was going on with her teacher?
These two chapters begins the summer between Susy's sophmore and junior year in highschool. She spends the summer in Taos, where her mother bought a house. Over that summer, Susy turned 16 and before her birthday had gotten there all Daphne could talk about was Susy losing her virginity. Her birthday had finally come and Daphne took her to the bar to see a band member that had been watching her recently. Daphne said he liked her. Daphne and her daughters moved closer to the stage so they could have a better look at him and he a better look at Susy. Before the night was over Daphne told her to take Penny home and she would make sure Theo would come home with her so he would be her first. When Susy got home she picked up around the house and moved from laying down to sitting up to her room and the living room. She couldn't decide which way she wanted to be when he entered the house with her mom. Eventually she feel asleep and when she woke up, she heard Daphne sleeping with Theo in the next room. Fed up with her mom always taking wait she wants, Susy lied to her mom after her betrayal and said she lost her virginity to Lincoln a couple of days later.
Susy no longer was going to go to the boarding school out East but now she was going to be in Colorado attending boarding school with Penny. She developed a crush on her English teacher Dr. Crawford, a married man. Everybody knew about her crush and they playfully teased her about it. When Dr. Crawford found out, at first he felt uncomfortable with it however as time went on the two of them started an affair. He took her virginity and made her promise she would not tell anything to anybody because he could lose everything. He claimed he was happily married. Susy went to Wyatt's, Dr. Crawford, house on multiple occasion and the two of them would not even look at each other for more than a couple of seconds when his wife was around regardless of what they were doing in her house. Their affair continued until Susy went to Boston for college and even continued even though Mrs. Crawford found out about the affair. After the affair was done and over with, she told her mother, at first she wanted to know every single detail but then began ranting and raving that she was a liar and good for nothing.
QUOTATION:
"You're making it up. You're making it up. I sat rattled and blinking on the edge of my bed, which felt like the world's edge. Had I made it up?" (Sonnenberg, 149).
REACTION:
The context where the quote was taken from startled me. I was shocked that her mom was finding out about her teenaged daughter 2 year long affair and what Daphne really wanted to know was how he touched her and what it felt like. For about 2 seconds she acted like a mom, trying to press charges but that idea left her mind as quick as it came. Where was Penelope when her affair was going on with her teacher?
Friday, October 8, 2010
Her Last Death (58-106)
SUMMARY:
After returning from her 5 month rehab program, Daphne wants to take both Penelope and Susanna to New Mexico to start over, so Daphne can get away from all the drugs available for her in New York. The only problem is that Susy is a couple of months from completing 7th grade and she does not want to leave. She ends up being able to stay because her friend, Marcy, took her in. While Susy was finishing up the last couple of months her mother and Penelope moved on to Taos. There Daphne found another guy, Randall, to be her boyfriend and she also found Michael, to have affairs with. At one point, Susy, being so used to being able to do whatever she wanted, went down to her old apartment to collect the mail but then got scolded by Marcy's father for leaving the house without telling anybody.
When 7th grade is completed, 12 year old Susy flies down to Taos to be with her mother and sister. On the plane, the man next to her begins to hit on her saying, she was way too attractive for a twelve-year old and gave her his card. Over the summer, Daphne got both girls into plays and even got both girls a job at the movie theater Randall owned. Susy developed a crush on her mother's drug suppler, a seventeen-year old boy named Lincoln. One day when Susy was at work, her mother brought her to the bathroom and started punching her in the stomach saying that this was Penelope's territory and Susy needs to step down because this is one thing that Penny can have that she cannot. When Susy came out of the bathroom after crying, Randall and Daphne were there and she told her daughter to "stop being dramatic in front of Randall". Susy witnessed countless times of Daphne inhaling cocaine from a little spoon and gave some to Susy to try. Susy then said she prefers cocaine rather than alcohol because alcohol leaves you with a sense of unease while cocaine seems to speed everything up. Lincoln would try time and time again to get Susy to smoke marijuana with him but she refused. By the end of the summer, Lincoln had left for college and Susy had been absolutely heart broken, calling him her first love.
By the beginning of Susy's 8th grade year, the family had moved back to New York so Susy could finish up middle school with all her friends. She was assigned to take a test to get into one of the boarding schools in the Northeastern area, however the night before Susy began to get these very sharp pains in her stomach, like her mother would get in her back, so Daphne gave Susy some type of painkiller. She was still able to take the test, and even visited schools that interested her. One night when she was staying at Marcy's house the acceptance letters came in and Susy found out she gotten into her second choice and was ecstatic. Her father did not attend her graduation stating he did not believe in organized goodbyes and her mother was lost in the sea of faces as she looked down. When she finally found her she told her they were going back home, that Paul, her friend Elise's brother, was waiting for them out on the sidewalk. The next time she saw Paul was walking out of her mother's room shirtless.
Susy moved into a boarding school with the help of Paul and Daphne. Upon staying for a while, Susy developed a crush on Larry, a senior, and it was with him she had her first kiss. When Susy called to tell her mother, her mother had news of hr own as well. She had begun to date Lincoln when he returned back from college. This upset Susy so she confided in her friend Katy. Larry broke things of with Susy and she set her sights on another boy, Hammond. Once when he was walking her back to her room, he pushed her behind bushes and tried to get her to do things she did not want to do yet. When she told her mother she demanded Susy press charges but Susy denied and that was the end of it. Daphne even recommended for Susy to get a diaphragm, a type of birth control, be put in so she would not risk a pregnancy.
QUOTE:
"I hate you," I screamed. The hatred raced through my body and wanted violence, but she was the only one that got to be violent," (Sonnenberg, 79)
REACTION:
I knew that over time, the more and more Susy was going to have to be a mother to her little sister, her mother and her self she was going to resent what her mother is making her do and ultimately going to resent her mother. I think now also, Susy is starting to act more and more like her mother. For example, Daphne sleeps around and has multiple affairs and Susy is starting to show signs of that in her future because once one guy is done with her, like Larry, she moves to the next, Hammond.
When 7th grade is completed, 12 year old Susy flies down to Taos to be with her mother and sister. On the plane, the man next to her begins to hit on her saying, she was way too attractive for a twelve-year old and gave her his card. Over the summer, Daphne got both girls into plays and even got both girls a job at the movie theater Randall owned. Susy developed a crush on her mother's drug suppler, a seventeen-year old boy named Lincoln. One day when Susy was at work, her mother brought her to the bathroom and started punching her in the stomach saying that this was Penelope's territory and Susy needs to step down because this is one thing that Penny can have that she cannot. When Susy came out of the bathroom after crying, Randall and Daphne were there and she told her daughter to "stop being dramatic in front of Randall". Susy witnessed countless times of Daphne inhaling cocaine from a little spoon and gave some to Susy to try. Susy then said she prefers cocaine rather than alcohol because alcohol leaves you with a sense of unease while cocaine seems to speed everything up. Lincoln would try time and time again to get Susy to smoke marijuana with him but she refused. By the end of the summer, Lincoln had left for college and Susy had been absolutely heart broken, calling him her first love.
By the beginning of Susy's 8th grade year, the family had moved back to New York so Susy could finish up middle school with all her friends. She was assigned to take a test to get into one of the boarding schools in the Northeastern area, however the night before Susy began to get these very sharp pains in her stomach, like her mother would get in her back, so Daphne gave Susy some type of painkiller. She was still able to take the test, and even visited schools that interested her. One night when she was staying at Marcy's house the acceptance letters came in and Susy found out she gotten into her second choice and was ecstatic. Her father did not attend her graduation stating he did not believe in organized goodbyes and her mother was lost in the sea of faces as she looked down. When she finally found her she told her they were going back home, that Paul, her friend Elise's brother, was waiting for them out on the sidewalk. The next time she saw Paul was walking out of her mother's room shirtless.
Susy moved into a boarding school with the help of Paul and Daphne. Upon staying for a while, Susy developed a crush on Larry, a senior, and it was with him she had her first kiss. When Susy called to tell her mother, her mother had news of hr own as well. She had begun to date Lincoln when he returned back from college. This upset Susy so she confided in her friend Katy. Larry broke things of with Susy and she set her sights on another boy, Hammond. Once when he was walking her back to her room, he pushed her behind bushes and tried to get her to do things she did not want to do yet. When she told her mother she demanded Susy press charges but Susy denied and that was the end of it. Daphne even recommended for Susy to get a diaphragm, a type of birth control, be put in so she would not risk a pregnancy.
QUOTE:
"I hate you," I screamed. The hatred raced through my body and wanted violence, but she was the only one that got to be violent," (Sonnenberg, 79)
REACTION:
I knew that over time, the more and more Susy was going to have to be a mother to her little sister, her mother and her self she was going to resent what her mother is making her do and ultimately going to resent her mother. I think now also, Susy is starting to act more and more like her mother. For example, Daphne sleeps around and has multiple affairs and Susy is starting to show signs of that in her future because once one guy is done with her, like Larry, she moves to the next, Hammond.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Her Last Death (1-58)
SUMMARY:
The story begins when Susanna, was a thirty-seven year old woman leading her own life with a husband and two children of her own, gets a call from her aunt Irene franticly telling her that her mother, Daphne, has been in an accident and is in the hospital because of a coma in Barbados, the country Daphne now resides. Susy's sister, Penelope, and aunt continue to call her to see if she is going to come to her mother's side, however, after a couple days of self deliberation, she decides not to go.
Before Susy finally decided not to go to Barbados to be by her mother's side she began to recall on the few times her mother contacted her in her adult life. At one point, Daphne actually told her daughter that she had been diagnosed with cancer and Susy, after keeping her children away from her mother, began to feel regret in not allowing her children to meet and interact with their grandmother. In the end, her mother was lying about the cancer and seemed top me like she used the disease to try to get closer with her daughter. However, this is not the first time Daphne said to have had a sickness when in actuality she had nothing.
When Susy was six, her mother surprised her by picking her up from school. She told her daughter that they were going away together and it was going to be a trip she would never forget. They began driving to the west picking up her little sister as they went along. When Penelope had fallen asleep she revealed to her daughter that she had leukemia and was going to die. At such a young age, Susy was already worried for her mother's life and the future of her sister and herself.
Daphne and Susy's father, Nat, came over from England on a boat when Susy was five months old. Her parents had, in her eyes a very good marriage regardless of the fact that Daphne was only 19 and her husband older. Two year into becoming first time parents they added on to their family by having another baby girl Penelope but soon after things in their marriage fell apart. They were separated by the time Susy was four. Not long after Daphne met Garrret, and Colin and Hugh and many other men in which Daphne had affairs with. She married Colin but their marriage ended just like Nat's marriage ended with Laura, and when Nat and Laura's marriage ended Laura took the daughter they produced and a son of her own with her.
At the young age of eight, Susy became experimenting with her own sexual identity. During one summer she spent with her father, he asked her if she masturbates, and from that day on she has been to the images of penthouse magazine. Daphne discovered this when Susy was twelve years old, the same year Daphne went to a psychiatric hospital. She wanted to come home, however Susy's grandmother threatened to cut them off financially and the girls would have no way of surviving.
QUOTE:
"One night, lying awake, I heard my mother's cry. I was always alert to her disasters. I heard trouble and her fear, her battering, I don't know what, but it was awful. My legs collided as I started up out of bed and raced the length of the apartment," (Sonnenberg, 33).
REACTION:
At this time in her life was eight years old. She has always had the motherly instinct which became apparent at the arrival of her two younger sisters, Penelope and Hattie, but to me it feels like maybe she is putting a Susy little too much stress on herself. She has already begun to worry for the safety of her mother from the time where she thought she had leukemia and she carries that worry with her until who knows when. Children do worry about their parents safety but I think that happens more later in life rather than an eight year old worrying about a twenty-seven year old grown woman. And most likely, this quote is setting the rest of the story up for Susy in a sense that no matter what she's doing or where her life brought her, she is either going to be constantly worrying about her mother or resenting her for putting this burden on her as a little girl.
The story begins when Susanna, was a thirty-seven year old woman leading her own life with a husband and two children of her own, gets a call from her aunt Irene franticly telling her that her mother, Daphne, has been in an accident and is in the hospital because of a coma in Barbados, the country Daphne now resides. Susy's sister, Penelope, and aunt continue to call her to see if she is going to come to her mother's side, however, after a couple days of self deliberation, she decides not to go.
Before Susy finally decided not to go to Barbados to be by her mother's side she began to recall on the few times her mother contacted her in her adult life. At one point, Daphne actually told her daughter that she had been diagnosed with cancer and Susy, after keeping her children away from her mother, began to feel regret in not allowing her children to meet and interact with their grandmother. In the end, her mother was lying about the cancer and seemed top me like she used the disease to try to get closer with her daughter. However, this is not the first time Daphne said to have had a sickness when in actuality she had nothing.
When Susy was six, her mother surprised her by picking her up from school. She told her daughter that they were going away together and it was going to be a trip she would never forget. They began driving to the west picking up her little sister as they went along. When Penelope had fallen asleep she revealed to her daughter that she had leukemia and was going to die. At such a young age, Susy was already worried for her mother's life and the future of her sister and herself.
Daphne and Susy's father, Nat, came over from England on a boat when Susy was five months old. Her parents had, in her eyes a very good marriage regardless of the fact that Daphne was only 19 and her husband older. Two year into becoming first time parents they added on to their family by having another baby girl Penelope but soon after things in their marriage fell apart. They were separated by the time Susy was four. Not long after Daphne met Garrret, and Colin and Hugh and many other men in which Daphne had affairs with. She married Colin but their marriage ended just like Nat's marriage ended with Laura, and when Nat and Laura's marriage ended Laura took the daughter they produced and a son of her own with her.
At the young age of eight, Susy became experimenting with her own sexual identity. During one summer she spent with her father, he asked her if she masturbates, and from that day on she has been to the images of penthouse magazine. Daphne discovered this when Susy was twelve years old, the same year Daphne went to a psychiatric hospital. She wanted to come home, however Susy's grandmother threatened to cut them off financially and the girls would have no way of surviving.
QUOTE:
"One night, lying awake, I heard my mother's cry. I was always alert to her disasters. I heard trouble and her fear, her battering, I don't know what, but it was awful. My legs collided as I started up out of bed and raced the length of the apartment," (Sonnenberg, 33).
REACTION:
At this time in her life was eight years old. She has always had the motherly instinct which became apparent at the arrival of her two younger sisters, Penelope and Hattie, but to me it feels like maybe she is putting a Susy little too much stress on herself. She has already begun to worry for the safety of her mother from the time where she thought she had leukemia and she carries that worry with her until who knows when. Children do worry about their parents safety but I think that happens more later in life rather than an eight year old worrying about a twenty-seven year old grown woman. And most likely, this quote is setting the rest of the story up for Susy in a sense that no matter what she's doing or where her life brought her, she is either going to be constantly worrying about her mother or resenting her for putting this burden on her as a little girl.
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