Om Ayim Srim Fnord Goddammit
Mantra-ing going well, relatively speaking.
I just finished reading Julie Gregory's Sickened, and now, I am.
Sickened is Ms. Gregory's memoir of growing up with a Munchausen's by proxy mother.
Now, I do not consider myself a sucker, but this book really, really upset me. The Buddha tells us that to lie is to distort reality, and is the only thing a bodhisattva cannot do, the only "sin" not forbidden. So much more so, for those of us who are not. Most of the hurt in the world comes from forms of distorted reality, from deception, from untruth. MBP, my knowledge of which was fairly limited to Judging Amy and ER, as well as a couple of psych classes, seems to me to be the worst kind of deception.
I am such an optimist that when I finished the book I was sure -- sure -- that Ms. Gregory would succeed in her aims. If you haven't read the book and don't want to spoil the ending, I don't suggest going to juliegregory.com until you've read it.
All I have time, or energy, or no-spoilers, to say is that the update section made me very sad, and very tired.
Off to go get the first mala of the day done...I'm taking a late start.
posted by Pope Lizbet @ 3:00 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Thanks for the mention of "Sickened," I've always wanted to know more about what makes people do such a thing. Since we're on the topic of child abuse, I highly recommend Torey Hayden's book, "One Child." It's the real life story of the author who worked with children with severe mental and developmental issues. The story begins with her getting a new student, a little girl who is essentially a wild animal. She wasn't mentally disabled, just wild, from a life of horrendous poverty and abuse. Anyway, it's an amazing story... and I don't want to give much away, but it uplifts, rather than depresses, though it can be emotionally taxing. I don't recommend going to Torey's website until after you read the book, but you should definitely go there --- it's worth it --- it tells a lot about what became of all the people involved, including the little girl.
Excellent. Now I have 2 more books to put at the top of the list of "stuff I must read".
I had the same feeling after reading the Broken Cord. I was so into the story, and sucked in emotionally, that I was really a little bit hopeful (despite the subject/ending). When I read how everything actually ended, it was such a let down.
Thanks, everyone.
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