Amazing. AMAZING. AMAZZZING!! (I'm still in a bit of a shock over this one. Yes, it was amazing. ----Originally post on my blog guiltless readingThe choice to forgive is yours.The book in one sentence: A young woman strives to make sense of a life touched by alcoholism and abuse. My two cents: This is one of those books that you don't really know what to expect ... and come away feeling that you got more than you bargained for. In an astounding way. I have never read any of McFadden's work, I have never heard of her period. So I didn't come in with any expectations. But I was blown away by both the story and the writing.This is a story of a young black woman, Kenzie, who is inexplicably drawn to the deathbed of her father. In her head she didn't want to be there, filled with hate after having suffered -- with her martyred mother and her brother Malcolm -- a childhood of consistent abuse in his perennial alcoholic haze. The story alternates between past and present as she tries to make sense of her life, her relationships with her mother and her father, and the impacts on her life.She witnessed how her mother had fallen to the addiction in a bid to assuage the pain; Kenzie too was not spared by the grip of alcoholism. Getting into Kenzie's head is painful -- Kenzie's voice is loud and strong, as she struggles with her anger and resentment, so she struggles with the pain and that "hole in her heart." Now and then I forget things, small things that would not otherwise alter my life. Things like milk in my coffee, setting my alarm clock, or Oprah at four. Tiny things. One day last week I forgot I hated my father, forgot that I had even thought of him as a monster, forgot the blows he'd dealt over the years [...]- p. 16, The Warmest December by Bernice L. McFadden What I needed was to get to the meeting and share the pain; distribute it among the others, thinning it until it disappeared. What I wanted was a drink. I could pour the liquid down my throat and let it filter into the hole and extinguish the pain that lived there. - p. 56, The Warmest December by Bernice L. McFaddenBut rather than succumbing to the victim mentality, Kenzie is allowed insight into her father's own painful childhood and she comes to the realization that forgiveness and her healing are within her reach -- if she so chooses. An otherwise vicious cycle that can be simply be allowed to perpetuate can be stopped: this is the heart of McFadden's message. This is captured in the latter part of the novel -- which I re-read not once but twice, and with each reading, I kept thinking if I had the strength of character to totally forgive someone who has caused so much pain. ♥Bernice McFadden's writing style is simple yet powerful ... because she herself lived it. Writing the truth speaks volumes more than the most flowery prose. She describes the process of writing thus: I suppose, The Warmest December came out of my need to understand and forgive. It was probably the most difficult and most freeing thing I've ever written. If bloodletting could be translated into words - for me The Warmest December would be just that. - via the author's blog on Goodreads ♥Verdict: If your life has been touched by alcoholism, this book will speak to (nay scream at) you. If not, it will shed a very personal light on this societal problem that many merely dismiss as a statistic. I can only express my gratitude for McFadden's courage to write about alcoholism at its ugliest and forgiveness at its finest.First line: Now and then I forget things, small things that would not otherwise alter my life.Last line: "I'm sorry for both of us," I said and looked out into the warm December day.
This was a painful and heartbreaking story to read. Kenzie Lowe is a grown woman who is holding a bedside vigil for her dying father. Her father had been an alcoholic for his entire life. And when Hy-Lo drank, he became dangerous and violent, preying on Kenzie, her mother and her younger brother. Eventually, Kenzie and her mother both start drinking as a means to cope with the pain and Kenzie finds herself struggling for much of her adult life with alcoholism, holding down a steady job and blaming herself and her father for doing this to her.****some spoilers past this point****As each chapter unfolds, the story of the abuse Kenzie grew up in becomes grittier and more graphic. The first time I cried was during one painfully raw scene that ended in Hy-Lo killing Kenzie’s cat with a hammer. And I was in tears for most of the last few chapters when the story of Hy-Lo’s own abusive childhood is revealed and how Kenzie is finally able to let go of the past and learn how to forgive both her father and herself. I finished this story in the wee hours of the early morning a couple days ago and am still thinking about the characters. They felt so real.I enjoyed McFadden’s writing style and am curious to read something else she has written.
What do You think about The Warmest December (2002)?
I have read many of McFadden's books, but this one had such a different feel to it. I was drawn in the first page. The descriptive manner in which she provides allows one to feel as if they were present in the very room with the characters. It opens the viewer to the mind of a child who is suffering abuse by the very one who is suppose to be the protector. The vicious cycle of life that one generation passes on down to another. I cried my eyes out a moments in this book. It is on my shelf as one of my all time favorites!
—Brenda
This one was a hard read in that it was extremely painful, and at times I wanted to stop reading. While this was a work of fiction it felt like I was getting a glimpse into the life of an alcoholic. What also added to the sense of realism, was the setting. The Brooklyn landmarks and neighborhoods intensifies the despair and longing of its characters. It felt as if I were right back on the blocks, avenues, blvds, and streets which were as tough as they were nurturing - nurturers of survivors. The theme of forgiveness was personified through me, the reader, as I struggled with forgiving these characters who I felt deserved not an ounce of my pity, though I found myself embracing as if they were those family members we love with all the pain anger fails to extinguish. McFadden does a beautiful job in exposing her characters. They are naked and raw, and interestingly enough, they don't ask to be forgiven. Yet, they do demand patience. We see the Lowe family at their lowest - they wear their name like a melded badge of courage and disgrace, staggering through the life they were dealt. There is lineage and legacy, but not the kind we celebrate or willfully recognize. McFadden's story structure serves the characters extremely well, as we are able to see how time changes, not just our own perceptions, but the expectations we have of others. What struck me most about this book was the friendship between Kenzie and Glenna. Theirs was a quiet understanding between two women forever trapped in their childhood. This would make for a really good movie. I hope to see it on the big screen someday. I also look forward to reading more of McFadden's work.
—Tracy
Violent alcoholics beget violent alcoholics beget... Pretty much everybody in this beautifully written novel is in agony. They are each perpetrators and victims, the tormentors and the ones suffering from a brutal disease. The cycle appears to be endless, but Kenzie is fighting to break the pattern. This novel, which is told from her point of view, is filled with unfathomable cruelty that it seems nobody would be foolish enough to stick around and take. Surely fleeing for their lives is an option. But instead of running from barbaric cruelty they are each running from their own demons. These demons take on liquid form and exist in bottles obtained from bars and liquor stores. The reader pities them for their hopelessness, urges those being bullied to take a hint and act out of self preservation rather than inexplicable loyalty. But neither Kenzie nor her brother nor her mother listen to the reader, or to friends, or to each other, or to concerned strangers such as policemen sometimes called to the scene of the crime. The jaded officers know in advance that their advice will be ignored, for the story is a sadly common one. The thing about a cycle is that it's extremely difficult to locate an exit point. No matter where you are it looks the same. There are glimpses of small hope, moments of grace, occasions that provide a view of genuine happiness, but eventually the moment to suffer comes back around. As long as Kenzie is consumed with understandable hate, she suffers and requires destructive medication to deal with the pain. She cannot escape by running, but rather, by confronting and figuring out how to forgive. Easier said than done.
—Roy
