Readings for 01/28/18

I very much enjoyed the stories by Amy Bloom "Silver Water" and "The Story," especially "Silver Water." In "Silver Water," I felt so much for the character Rose. Rose was a young woman with enormous talent for singing and musical performance. Unfortunately, at 15 years young she started to suffer from some type of mental disorder, perhaps more than one. That is when the family had their first experience of having to hospitalize Rose, something the family would unfortunately get used to until the time of Rose's somewhat unexpected suicide. My heart went out to the character because of my own bouts through the years with Generalize Anxiety Disorder and Depressive Disorder. I could somewhat put myself in Rose's shoes in some of the scenes, especially relating to music helping to soothe one's psyche when feeling overwhelmed. My friends and I are in a band together, Eastern Skies, and despite having been diagnosed with GAD and depression, anything with music, whether it's writing it and practicing or jamming out on stage, it all puts my mind to ease. It stills the racing thoughts, the gigantic weight of worry, the ankle cutting sharpness of doubt. For those moments surrounding my musical efforts, and often the time immediately after, my anxious thoughts are put to rest. I felt like that's how it was for Rose; the only peace she ever truly got during those hard years was when she was able to sing and perform, able to be her true self. The version of herself that wasn't altered by her mental struggles or subsequent medications for said struggles. The ending was especially heart wrenching, realizing that even in her seeming detachment from reality and what was going on, that she was still lucid enough to know that things weren't how she wished they were. She was aware that her struggles were hard for the entire family, not just her. And in this realization, she felt that the only way out was to take her life. Having had walked down similar feelings in the past, I had hoped for a happier fate for Rose such as I've experienced. But alas, her beautiful songs were required for a symphony of angels on the Other Side it seems. I wonder if this story was based on true events. If so, that makes it even more saddening.

"The Story" was an entertaining tale, however it required staying aware to follow because of some of the jumps made by the narrator. At first we believe this is her story, and then halfway through the story we are revealed that she is borrowing pieces from her friends' lives because she feels her own life was too boring to write about. That in itself is sad and a reflection of the narrator being sad, to not have faith in your own tale so you tell the tale of others. I like how the bad mother/mean wife Sandra was subtlety taken care of by the narrator, getting what she deserved for cheating on Sam & the potentially wonderful family they could have had together with their daughter. Again, I wonder if these events were based on true accounts, and if so then there are plenty of characters to attach to and feel sorry for.