In this post: A sad story of a family's escape from an abusive husband and a look at the impacts that can have for generations.
Category: Short Story Collection + Fast Fiction
*Trigger Warning: This story involves instances of domestic violence. Reader discretion is advised.*
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes.
This story is so sad. Like SO sad. But it's also a great reading experience despite its dark subject matter of domestic violence. I think the audio file from the author makes the feelings associated with reading the story even more visceral.
Stay with me as I break down the protagonist family. This story is told by an unnamed grandaughter. Her mother, Michelle, is the daughter of the story, and older sibling to Joseph and Ralphie. The story starts with the three siblings loading onto the school bus.
Seems normal, right? Then we read Michelle wincing as she touches her eye and asks the bus driver for help.
The children get off a stop early, with no intention of going to school. Instead, they meet the unnamed protagonist's grandmother, Ruby. Over the course of the story, we learn that Ruby has experienced domestic violence from her husband for years and that the town has known about it. It seems they have tried to help as they could, but Ruby and the children have been in the situation nonetheless.
This day, Ruby and the children are escaping, planning to go to the next town and make a new life there. First, Ruby needs to make one last stop at her job to get her last paycheck. They're moving as quickly as possible in hopes that the grandfather won't notice until they've already made a headstart on their journey. they know their time is limited, however, as he works in the police force and will be searching for them as soon as the kids are reported missing at school.
The author does a great job at showing the chaos and fear the protagonists would have felt and experienced.
From the fear that the children had: "My younger uncle reached out his little hand, and Joseph, who hated all show of affection, held it. Ralphie had a fishing accident when I was a teenager, and my cold, dry uncle Joseph fell apart at the funeral, sobbing and letting snot run down his face, all twisted grotesquely in pain," to the strength one had to muster: "My grandmother looked him directly in the face, perhaps for the first time, because she was a timid woman whose voice was low, who made herself a shadow in the world. He sighed and said, See what I can manage, then he disappeared into the office."
There was also some great subliminal commentary around what others do in this situation. When Ruby went into her work for her paycheck, some of her community helped and others did not. "Doris called for Dougie in a sharp voice, and Dougie hurried out of the office with an envelope, looking flushed, a little shamefaced. He had been hiding in there, my mother understood."
One of the strengths of this story is that it talks about the long-term impacts of the abuse. Understandably, that experience wouldn't be easily forgotten. The granddaughter reflects on how the story has affected her mother: "She tried her best, but she couldn’t help filling me with this same wind. It seeped into me through her blood, through every bite of food she made for me, through every night she waited, shaking with fear, for me to come home by curfew, through every scolding, everything she forbade me to say or think or do or be, through all the ways she taught me how to move as a woman in the world."
Let me know what you think. You can read the story here.
Ramiah Reflects
Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!):
Is there an experience in your family that has impacted several generations?
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You want a story that has a powerful storytelling narrative
See below for my book notes:
(No notes this time, folks!)
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
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