Synopses & Reviews
Days before Felicia Sullivan graduated from college, her mother disappeared; she hasn't been heard from in more than twelve years. It was possibly the last betrayal her mother, a beautiful, volatile, deceitful drug addict, would add to those that built their relationship, which subjected Felicia to a nightmare childhood on the toughest streets of 1980s Brooklyn. Growing up in the close company of dealers, users, and a host of unsavory characters, Felicia became her mother's keeper at a shockingly young age—getting her to the hospital after her overdoses, enduring her cruelty and narcissistic rages, and accepting the abuse or indifference of numerous so-called stepfathers. Years later, damaged and ashamed of her past, Felicia invented a new, brutally hard-partying persona to show to the world: she became her mother.
Affecting, honest, and utterly extraordinary, The Sky Isn't Visible from Here is a book about secrets and forgiveness—the story of a young woman unraveling . . . and then putting her life back together again.
Synopsis
Felicia Sullivan's volatile, beautiful, deceitful, drug-addicted mother disappeared on the night Sullivan graduated from college, and has not been seen or heard from in the ten years since. Sullivan, who grew up on the tough streets of Brooklyn in the 1980s, now looks back on her childhood2;lived among drug dealers, users, and substitute fathers. Sullivan became her mother's keeper, taking her to the hospital when she overdosed, withstanding her narcissistic rages, succumbing to the abuse or indifference of so-called stepfathers, and always wondering why her mother would never reveal the truth about the father she'd never met.
Ashamed of her past, Sullivan invented a persona to show the world. Yet despite her Ivy League education and numerous accomplishments, she, like her mother, eventually succumbed to alcohol and drug abuse. She wrote The Sky Isn't Visible from Here, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, when she realized it was time to kill her own creation.
Synopsis
Ashamed of her drug-addicted mother's past, Sullivan invented a persona toshow the world. But despite her accomplishments, she, like her mother, eventually succumbed to alcohol and drug abuse. This book is her testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
About the Author
Felicia C. Sullivan is a graduate of the Columbia University MFA program, a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and a Best American Essays notable. She is the founder of the critically acclaimed literary journal Small Spiral Notebook, and she lives in Brooklyn, New York.