Author: Eileen Cronin
- Fiction
- Planeta Publishing Corporation
- ISBN: 9786070724909
- Release Date: 03-10-2015
Synopsis
At the age of three, Eileen Cronin first realized that only she did not have legs. Her boisterous Catholic family accepted her situation as "God's will," treating her no differently than her ten siblings, as she "squiddled" through their 1960s Cincinnati home. But starting school, even wearing prosthetics, Cronin had to brave bullying and embarrassing questions. Thanks to her older brother's coaching, she handled a classmate's playground taunts with a smack from her lunchbox. As a teen, thrilled when boys asked her out, she was confused about what sexuality meant for her. She felt most comfortable and happiest relaxing and skinny dipping with her girlfriends, imagining herself "an elusive mermaid." The cause of her disability remained taboo, however, even as she looked toward the future and the possibility of her own family.
In later years, as her mother battled mental illness and denied having taken the drug thalidomide--known to cause birth defects--Cronin felt apart from her family. After the death of a close brother, she turned to alcohol. Eventually, however, she found the strength to set out on her own, volunteering at hospitals and earning a PhD in clinical psychology.Reflecting with humor and grace on her youth, search for love, and quest for answers, Cronin spins a shimmering story of self-discovery and transformation.
Eileen descubre desde muy pequeña que su vida no será igual a la de los demás: a los tres años cobra conciencia de que ha nacido sin piernas. A partir de ese momento comienza a construir su propia visión del mundo, a hurtadillas, con temor y desconcierto. Al paso de los años sus circunstancias no mejoran. Además de lidiar con episodios de bullying, la incomprensión de sus amigos y una rigurosa educación católica en casa, Eileen ve cómo su madre se pierde en arrebatos psicóticos y su padre, insondable, lo hace en su silencio. Es la década de los sesenta y la sociedad se escandaliza con las nuevas ideas sobre la sexualidad, las relaciones, los núcleos familiares y la convivencia con el otro. En medio de ese escenario Eileen emprende un camino para conocerse a sí misma y vencer los tabúes de la discapacidad mientras reflexiona con humor sobre su juventud y la búsqueda del amor. La autobiografía de Eileen Cronin saca a la luz las cualidades que todos necesitamos para vivir honestamente en este mundo. Jane Brox, autora de Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light
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