Mermaid

A Memoir of Resilience

11 February 2014

Territory Rights — Worldwide.

Description

A gorgeously crafted memoir about resilience, family, and forging your own way, by a woman born without legs.

At the age of three, Eileen Cronin first realized that only she did not have legs. Her boisterous Catholic family accepted her situation as “God’s will,” treating her no differently than her ten siblings, as she “squiddled” through their 1960s Cincinnati home. But starting school, even wearing prosthetics, Cronin had to brave bullying and embarrassing questions. Thanks to her older brother’s coaching, she handled a classmate’s playground taunts with a smack from her lunchbox. As a teen, thrilled when boys asked her out, she was confused about what sexuality meant for her. She felt most comfortable and happiest relaxing and skinny dipping with her girlfriends, imagining herself “an elusive mermaid.” The cause of her disability remained taboo, however, even as she looked toward the future and the possibility of her own family.

In later years, as her mother battled mental illness and denied having taken the drug thalidomide—known to cause birth defects—Cronin felt apart from her family. After the death of a close brother, she turned to alcohol. Eventually, however, she found the strength to set out on her own, volunteering at hospitals and earning a PhD in clinical psychology.

Reflecting with humor and grace on her youth, search for love, and quest for answers, Cronin spins a shimmering story of self-discovery and transformation.

Reviews

"An irresistibly engaging story of physical limitation, family conflict and personal triumph—and how well we come to know this immensely likable, refreshingly candid, funny, shrewd and self-aware memoirist!" — Phillip Lopate

"Written with an unvarnished pen, Mermaid spares no one, yet is fair, funny, and moving." — Rita Mae Brown

"Eileen Cronin’s memoir of growing up in a family rife with contention, chaos, secrets, and mystery—as well as love—not only chronicles her determination to live a fully normal life even with her disability, it brings to light the qualities necessary for anyone to live honestly in this world. Mermaid tells of a true odyssey, and is impressive for its frankness, humor, and beauty." — Jane Brox, author of Clearing Land

"Brave, wry, and spirited. Eileen Cronin delves fearlessly into the emotional thicket of family lore, tribal dynamics, body image, and coming-of-age." — Danielle Ofri, author of What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine

"In her hard-to-put-down, brutally honest memoir, Cronin writes about growing up, as one of 11 children, without having legs. …[A] must-read for all memoir fans and everyone involved or interested in the lives of the disabled…. Readers will want to cheer at the happy ending to this must-read." — Karen Springen, Booklist, Starred Review

"A clinical psychologist’s memoir about how she uncovered the truth behind the family secret that surrounded her disability…. Perhaps the greatest achievement with this book, which brings to light one of the great medical tragedies of the 20th century, is that [Cronin] is able to tell her story with a winning combination of candor, grace and humor." — Kirkus Reviews

"Cronin has managed to create a cogent account of coming to terms with her condition (and with the condition of her family). Her determination to create a life without secrecy and full of experience is evident." — Therese Nielson, Library Journal Reviews

Hardback

9780393089011

165 x 244 mm • 352 pages

£20.99

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Standalone Ebook

9780393242737

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