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Memoirs:
Learning by Experience
The
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY defines memoir as "an account
of an author's personal experiences," and while some
writers present the whole of their lives, others focus on
certain, life-changing events. With the publication of LEARNING
TO SWIM, Ann Turner joins author Sonya
Sones in producing a memoir written entirely in free verse
about a painful time in her life. While Sones wrote about
her sister's sudden onset of schizophrenia, Turner has written
about sexual abuse, bringing to life a painful summer in her
sixth year. When asked to comment on LEARNING TO SWIM, she
said, "…I have taken a painful, silent time in my
childhood and transformed it into something healing and life-giving."
Whether you read memoirs to understand your own life better,
or simply to partake of some beautiful prose, they're a great
way to spend an afternoon.
LEARNING
TO SWIM: A Memoir
Ann
Turner
Scholastic
Young Adult
ISBN: 0439153093
Read
an Excerpt
"At night I dream / of swimming, / my arms move smoothly /
through the water / it is so easy, so calm, / I am never afraid…"
A luminous exploration of the effects of sexual abuse, LEARNING
TO SWIM recalls one fateful summer in a young girl's life
--- an innocent time when she should have been joyfully picking
blueberries with her mother, playing with her brothers, and
learning to swim with her father. Instead, she is forced to
contend with the sexual advances of a neighborhood boy, actions
that forever change her life. In a series of spare, one-page
poems, Turner recalls the idyllic and then horrifying afternoons
when the boy would lead her to her bedroom, defile her private
parts, and reveal his. The use of free verse works well here,
providing the perfect vehicle for bringing the fleeting, somewhat
hazy quality of childhood memories into sharp relief. Book-ended
by poems written in the author's adult voice, the story is
divided into three chapters: "Sailing," "Sinking," and "Swimming,"
which further echo the metaphor of the title --- sink or swim.
Not for teens alone, this haunting memoir will benefit anyone
dealing with the legacy of childhood sexual abuse. Words have
the power to heal and to set one free; LEARNING TO SWIM is
an exercise in both. And remember, "telling is what matters,"
so if you or someone you know are in need of help, don't hesitate
to contact one of the national 24-hour help lines included
at the back of the book.
--- Reviewed by Tammy L. Currier
(c) Copyright 2003, Teenreads.com. All rights reserved.
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