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The Family Secret: Distorted Images and the Long Way to Truth
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by:
ISBN:
0-7414-3278-1
©2006
Price:
$11.95
Book Size:
5.5'' x 8.5''
, 123 pages
Category/Subject:
FICTION / General
1940’s—Vermont—Francophone family secretiveness and cultural changes throw their load on six-year-old Michelle. Years later, secret comes out. Michelle’s devastation leads to former friends and fascinating, life-changing events.
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Abstract:
1947, a Canadian-American family—A father’s “nice/bad surprise” is kept secret and troubles little Michelle for years. Sent to boarding school in Canada, she meets JP; they go looking for a father in God, the Father! Instead, they meet Ivan, an ex-convict. She moves in with ambitious Aunt Lena in NH and into high society. When her father is imprisoned, she has to choose for aunt or mother. Finally, the secret’s revealed. Michelle is devastated. Coincidentally, she meets JP and Ivan again. Their lives are changed forever--all because of the family secret.
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Customer Reviews
Michelle, ma belle!
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07/25/2006
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Reviewer:
Lucienne
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I couldn't put down the book once I got caught up in the life of little Michelle, the 6 year old, who reminded me of the many children I cared for at the orphanage in Montréal. Her experiences as a child were so similar to theirs, that I wanted to know how her life would turn out despite the lack of love of her father. Her search for a loving "Father-God" was also similar to the God we shared with our orphans, who knew almost nothing of their parents.
Connie Lemonde's main character, Michelle, brought back many memories that were true my life experiences as an educators, and I thank her for the opportunity of reliving them.
I recommend this novel to all who live children, to all who feel as though life has cheated them a bit because of their difficult or unloving childhood. A very good read not to be put down till the very end.
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Who said childhood was fun?
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07/25/2006
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Reviewer:
Murmurd
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Nowadays, we're led to believe that childhood should be fun, a carefree period in one's life before the difficulties of adulthood hit us. Well, the truth is that the supposed carefree years of a child's life are now so blissful. Michelle, a 6 year old, at the beginning of the novel, immediately brings us face-to-face with the reality of life then and now.
Although society tries to brush aside the fact of INCEST, novels such as THE FAMILY SECRET, forces us to face the truth, the fact that many young children are subjects of parental sexual abuse. Of course, nowadays, we hear about parents, who are convicted of such a crime, years after the fact. But, in the 1950's and for years to come, children suffered in silence because of society's ignorance of the harm that such abuse may have on a child. Secrecy was and still is the password. Such behavior must be THE FAMILY SECRET, not to be divulged to strangers, even though most of one's relatives were and are aware of the situation.
Whether one has been abused or not, THE FAMILY SECRET reveals to the reader the complexities of family relationships. In a few pages, the author helps us identify with Michelle by whetting our curiosity as to whether she'll make it to adulthood with a relatively normal psyche.
I do recommend this novel as a means of brushing the surface of family secrets sufficiently so that we may realize that, in the end, all secrets become known...better sooner than later so as to awaken one's understanding of our parents behavior toward us and toward one another. Understanding may bridge the gap between a child's emotions and fantasies so that reality may be finally perceived before it's too late.
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