The book Stitches
by David Small was set in Detroit, Michigan; this is where David spent his
childhood with his seemingly picture-perfect 1950’s family. Emotional disconnect
and family issues were hidden by the almost seamless facade his mother and
father were able to display. His father, Edward Small, was a physician in
Detroit and a man who struggled with his emotions. When David’s respiratory
health problems continued throughout his childhood his father took it upon
himself to cure him through high doses of radiation. Finding little relief for
his son he took out his frustrations and anger by physically hitting a punching
bag. David’s mother, Elizabeth, was the leader of the Small household where
under a cloud of silence everyone was made to closet their emotions from those
around them. She was a harsh woman who excessively scolded everyone making the
heart of the home cold and hard with brimming frustrations clawing at the seams.
David’s fathers’ technique of high doses of radiation was his personal belief
for his sons healing, yet the further implications of his actions will unravel
the already fragile seams of their family dynamics.
The link below will lead you to a music video created to visualize
one of Pink’s (a music artist) songs that speaks about a dysfunctional home and
family. It can give some insight into the emotion and
personal struggle that one goes through when faced with this situation.
Small, David. Stitches:
A Memior--. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. Print
Stitches really shows the effect of the lack of communication on a family and all the members. The dysfunction of the family and the love really disappears and each person suffers in a different way. David found his communication via drawings.
ReplyDeleteThis link is the song Chandelier by Sia and I believe it relates to your link as it shows what the life of being in an alcoholic family can do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM