Mermaid

A Memoir of Resilience

De: Eileen Cronin

Narrado por: Eileen Cronin

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 10 siblings, as she "squiddled" through their 1960s Cincinnati home. But when 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.

©2014 Eileen Cronin (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Meh. Sorry to say.

Although I consider it a privilege to have been allowed to listen in on Eileen's life, editing could've gone a long way to avoid this becoming a yawn fest. I had to listen to the narrative on 1.25 speed because her reading was very slow. The story of her life was intriguing from a point of insight into her disability & and big family home life but the second half of the book should've been edited to at least half. A fair attempt at a memoir but quite possibly the most boring one I've listened to. :( Sorry.

Great story teller perfect narration

Any additional comments?

Eileen Cronin's style reminds me of David Sadaris but her life story, needless to say, was a bit heavier. Both great authors!

excrutiatingly slow narration.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

i would not.

What didn’t you like about Eileen Cronin’s performance?

She reads in an excrutiatingly slow manner, overpronouncing words and dragging sentences on for days.