Somewheres in the Middle

A Creative Memoir

By: Frank Gordon

Narrated by: Frank Gordon

Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A personal memoir written in the true voice of the author as a young boy between the ages of 10-12. He tells the story of his family of 12 children "living in a black house on a hill with parents who often disappeared, sometimes for days on end, leaving us to our own devices."

Some current professionals might use the term "psychological maltreatment" to explain what we experienced, long term, on that hill. They might also describe our myriad family interactions as "dysfunctional". Throw in "codependent" and you'd have a perfect set. Truth is, I wouldn’t quibble with any of those descriptors. But for us kids, finding our way through the dense and suffocating fog of poverty, alcoholism, periodic abandonment, psychological and sometimes physical abuse, it was just a hardscrabble life - a fate that, by using all the creative ingenuity we could muster, we simply endured.

A beautifully written memoir in an authentic voice and language of the author as a young boy. It is at once the telling of humorous tales of children growing up together with the usual imaginative play against a backdrop of poverty and often parental neglect. It is a tale of survival and amazing truth.

©2019 Frank Gordon (P)2019 Frank Gordon

Excellent

Beautiful! I loved that the story was written from the childhood perspective of the author.

Fun, yet poignant

Story of family life in the 1960s as remembered by one of the 12 children,. Living in poverty and surviving a harsh father and gentle. mother, one son describes life in profound remembrance. The reader really makes this fun story come to life. Great book!

What an Emotional Rollercoaster!

This book moved me to laughter and tears-sometimes in the same chapter! The challenges this little boy had to deal with were immense but with the help of his many siblings, he demonstrates how love can pull us through. It did take me a few chapters to really get what the author was trying to accomplish: basically reliving his past through the spoken word of the "child within". I would encourage listeners to listen to the first three chapters twice before they go into the rest of the book in order to really get inside the mind of this little boy, Frankie. The author really nailed it but we listeners have to zone in before we begin to really get it. The recording is professional, maybe flawless, but this is not a professional reader (the author professionally recorded it in his own voice). I think that makes it sound more authentic. At times you can feel the author feeling the feelings of that troubled little boy. This was quite a journey from childhood naïveté to greater awareness.