Thursday, April 7, 2011

Downsizing Through A Teenager's Eyes

"They dismantled my brass canopy bed and carried it out, a man in front and a man in back."

And so begins Irene's journey from a penthouse on the Upper West Side to well, shes not entirely sure where. Irene's father is a downsized investment banker, and her mother is a socialite. When her father cant immediately find new work, the familys lifestyle quickly catches up with them, and they are eventually forced to move in with Irenes grandfather in the big family farmhouse upstate, where Irene gets to know her grandfather on her own terms and meets a most remarkable family. Everything I Was is the story of a young woman deciding what she wants for herself when she discovers that the adults in her life are not infallible.



Jackie says:
"Irene's father has lost his job, and subsequently her family must move out of their posh New York apartment. They move in with her grandfather at his small nursery farm. Tension is high--her mother hates the country and loves all things urban and expensive, and Irene blames her for their need to move. Her father is quiet and depressed, trying to smooth things over between his daughter, his wife, and his father. It isn't easy. Her grandfather slowly helps bring Irene out of her angry shell--gives her a place of her own in the barn loft, fixes up a bike for her, restores a canoe with her to use on the farm pond. On her bike rides every day to town, Irene notices a large and boisterous family who eventually notice her and welcome her into their chaotic fold. By joining their family, Irene finds a way to help heal her own."

1 comment:

JW_Firth said...

It sounds really interesting - what appeals to me is the idea of re-evaluating your life and the people you grew up with. Psychologically, that's probably the biggest transition, or certainly among the biggest, that most people have in their lives.

Neezes
http://wordingtheimage.blogspot.com/