Publisher's Notes:
Helen Bonner's short stories are familiar to her readers, from True Confession, to Writer's Forum and Dust & Fire. The Laid Daughter brilliantly weaves the wisdom, sexuality, horror, and humor in these stories into her first book. A college professor and feminist, Bonner's writing is always insightful, intricate, and meaningful. The Laid Daughter is not just the autobiography of a woman whose life has to be re-built over a history of sexual abuse. Although it does that very well, it is more. It is the autobiography of a woman who emerges from a patriarchal family in patriarchal America of the '40's, comes to some belated understanding of who she is besides a wife and mother in the 50's, is swept up in the women's movement in the 60's, and fights her way to professional achievement in the 70's and 80's. In spite of an abuse history that left her sexually confused, in spite of a culture not quite ready to grant women equal respect, she never veered from her goals --- a full life as a student, a writer, a traveler, a teacher, a wife and mother. In living her life fully, she touched the lives of many like her; women uncertain of their value, returning to school late in life; Native American students who felt little hope of winning good jobs in their community; survivors of abuse, both male and female, who found ways to express their unacknowledged grief and move beyond it. Past and present, Dr. Bonner's work is always directed toward helping women and men understand the deeper cultural currents, benign or malignant, underlying their own everyday experience. Only then, she says, are we ready to move on.
Know thyself is Bonner's underlying theme, and in The Laid Daughter, we experience with a wise and sometimes humorous woman the journey into that deeper self --- the deeper self with whom we must all eventually shake hands. What does a little girl remember about incest? What does a father do to forget? Can the secret stay hidden? This riveting story reveals the nightmare of sexual abuse and the healing power of truth!
Helen Bonner does the seemingly impossible by slaying her emotional dragons and then putting it all down in a compelling fashion. This story of hope and transcendence must be read by those with troubled childhoods and painful memories, and those of us who live with them. Which means, finally, all of us. This courageous relentless woman confronts her ragged, confused memories that have been stored for decades in nightmares and journals. She recovers her life as it was meant to be. Amazing! Helen Bonner's long journey to sexual insight packs the punch of truth. It is a book full of horror, humor, beauty and wisdom.
Anyone who has doubts about the veracity of recovered memories, anyone who is dealing with their own memories, anyone who enjoys a powerful true story, must read this book.