Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"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
Review
"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
Review
"Mermaid reminds us how the stories we tell and the ones we bury have the capacity to imprison or free us. Cronin's deep tenderness is born from the astounding hurts she has endured in her amazing life. From her capacity to forgive is born a laughter that is the best kind of wisdom. This deeply alive and sensual woman may sometimes forget she is wearing a wooden leg and we can laugh at the absurd consequences, but the reader can never forget this glimpse of our world through the eyes of a Mermaid." John Hockenberry
Review
"Written with an unvarnished pen, Mermaid spares no one, yet is fair, funny, and moving." Rita Mae Brown
Review
"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
Synopsis
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.
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Synopsis
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.
Video
About the Author
Eileen Cronin won the Washington Writing Prize in Short Fiction and had a notable essay in Best American Essays. A practicing psychologist, she is an assistant editor for Narrative and lives with her family in Los Angeles.