Still on Hiatus But... A Book Review

I'm in the library, working on my Family Law & Public Policy final that is due in 9hrs. Almost done. Part of the final is on the book Secret Girl, by Mollly Bruce Jacobs. Since I just wrote a review I thought I would post it here too. Below is the back of the book in italics, and then my review. Has anyone read the book? Please comment if you have.

"For decades a well to do Baltimore family guarded a secret they felt too ashamed to reveal, much less speak of among themselves. For one daughter, the secret would haunt her for years but ultimately compel her to take surprising risks and reap unbelieveable rewards--the story of which forms the stunning narritive of this remarkable memoir.

"When Molly Bruce Jacobs, the family's eldest daughter, finds heself newly sober at the age of thirty-eight, she finally seeks out and comes face-to-face with this secret: Anne, a youger sister who was diagnosed at birth with hydrocephalus ('water on the brain') and mental retardation, was institutionalized. Anne has never been home to visit, and Molly Jacobs has never seen her. Full of trepidation, she goes to meet her sister for the first time. As the book unfolds and the sisters grow close, Jacobs learns of the decades of life not shared and gains surprising insight about herself, including why she drank for most of her adult life. In addition. she gradually comes to understand that her parents' reasons for placing Anne in a state institutionwere far more complex then she'd ever imagined."

I was disappointed in the book. It was introduced to me (I thought) as a book about a woman who grew up in Rosewood (an institution in Owings Mills, MD, very close to where I am sitting right now) that just happened to be written by her sister. Instead it was a book about Brucie, who just happens to have a sister who grew up in Rosewood. I didn't need to hear exstensively about the trip to Italy or dance class. I wanted to hear more about Anne. I think I would have liked the book better if it had focused more on the 10 years Anne and Brucie knew each other.

Also, I was disappointed with the way that Anne was portrayed throughout the book. Why were her childlike qualities emphasized? Anne was an adult. Refer to her as an adult. Yeah, she has her issues, but they can be illustrated differently. The tone of the entire book brings to mind the Tiny Tim view of disability. I take offense to it. Read No Pity, by Joseph Shapiro. Look at the part about Sotherbury Training School, about the court case to detirmine the appropriateness of a limited legal guardian. Read chapter 10, which is about Jimmy who spent 30 some years in an institution. Read about how he got out. All of these people have the same issues as Anne, but it is still very clear that they are adults. This is how it should be done.