Learning to Swim: 07/31/06

I normally avoid memoirs of child abuse, especially when presented as poetry. With Learning to Swim I made an exception because it came in a book box and I knew that all of us who had received boxes had received at least one copy. It also was short both in overall page length and in the lines per poem.

The poetry isn't that great. None of it has made a lasting impression to be able to quote lines. All that remains is a general sense of mood and of the events that unfolded that summer.

Here's my BookCrossing Review:

Ann Turner uses poetry to help herself recover from the painful memories of being molested by her cousin, Kevin, one summer. The poetry is not some of the best I've read but it does set the scene, tell the story and develop character. Each poem is also short and to the point. While the book is over one hundred pages, the poems flow quickly and the entire book can be read in half an hour.

The book was clearly part of the healing process for Turner and it is refreshing to read a book where one can see recovery from a tramatic event. It's nice to see that there can be a "light at the end of the tunnel" and a return to normalcy. So often these books focus on reliving the experience rather than moving on from it. I will be wild releasing this book in a week and I hope other readers benefit from it.

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