Review

Mother’s ruin

GHOST PAINS
Jane Severance
Sheba Press, 1992, £6.99

Ghost Pains is about the struggle of two teenage girls, Lyn and Darcy, to cope with their mother’s alcoholism. It describes the pain and shame of living with a problem drinker and the constant need to develop strategies simply to survive.

As their world, their lives, become increasingly defined by their mother’s drinking, each girl reacts differently. Lyn is angry and provocative, both with her sister for not protecting her and with her mother. Darcy is resignedly practical, making sure the rent gets paid, that there’s food in the house; taking life one day, one task at a time. Such different ways of coping make it hard for the sisters to give each other the support they both desperately need while trying to keep up appearances in the outside world.

From the very beginning I was drawn into this world and into the thoughts, fears -- and hopes -- of each character. Their actions and reactions are always believable without being predictable. It is disturbingly realistic and the author successfully maintains pace and tension throughout.

This book lifts the veil to reveal the private anguish and confusion of children living with an alcoholic woman and the pressures faced by their mother as a lesbian with a drink problem. Written with brutal honesty it nevertheless treats these issues with remarkable sensitivity. There is also a short resource list of supportive organisations and helplines in the UK, as well as a further reading list.

It is rare to read a book which raises painful and difficult issues with such understanding and yet remains a compelling story. Ghost Pains is such a book.