Day 6: Dance, Movement and Words make "The Other Mother"

Ann-Marie:

As the voices increase in number during the blog tour, it's a must to incorporate their words into the dialog.

Each voice however different, literary or not, choreographed or not makes it plain that the essence of what we all know holds to be true. That life is transitional. That life happens. That there are individuals that aid our awakening to new points of light. It's the voice of an author like Teresa Bruce that aids us in wrapping our life memories around a common experience.


Today I frame my thoughts around what one thing does a reader take away from reading the book.


Heather Desaulniers, another blogger on #THEOTHERMOTHER blog tour adds another trail in the other mother storyline.  As a dance critic, but also a former dancer and choreographer she lends a contemporary voice. A voice of and with dance and about life..."The Other Mother: a rememoir" proclaims that human life is a work of verbs, both active and inactive: of doing, of believing, of deciding, of being." Read her blog entry this week.


For Beth Lathrop a most welcomed contributor to the tour, the "one thing" comes in the recollection of her own experience of another mother who stepped in and loved her. Her "Other Mother" entry this week tells us about the words her other mother relayed that stay with her, reminding her of her love, a mother she lost and who she is today. "You are a damned fine woman, just like yo' mama."

Teresa:

I'm thrilled just to be able to introduce Byrne Miller to people who didn't happen to cross paths with her incredible life. And there are so many movements in "The Other Mother: a rememoir" that its impossible not to find one dance that gets your feet tapping.  For most women, I suppose the big takeaway is the awareness of how many other mothers we need and cherish.

The title of the book gives it away ~ I could have called it "my" other mother but Byrne was an other mother to so many collected sons and daughters that I couldn't claim her all to myself.  Other mothers rarely stop with one ~ they have so much wisdom and wit and passion that their impact is limitless.

The amazing thing was realizing, as I wrote the book how many other mothers come to life in its pages. There's Suzanne Larson ~ a familiar to WJWJ public television viewers, and for countless other reporters who grew up under her tutelage.

I wish I'd seen it at the time, but I was more other mother than wife to Sonny -- the man I brought with me to Beaufort the first time.  All I knew was that he was wounded and until I met Byrne and Duncan the only marriages I'd witnessed were one directional. I thought it was the woman's duty to forgive any transgression and nurture even the most dangerous men.   Thank you Bryne!

Then there's Fanny ~ Byrne's mother ~ who steps into Duncan's life and becomes the mother he needed. The rift between Duncan and his biological mother is never explained because even Byrne didn't know what happened.  But it didn't matter to Fanny.  Duncan as the young man who made her daughter stand taller, dream bigger and fight harder. So she took him in and became his mother.

But Duncan's situation ~ one of needing to replace his mother ~ is the only one of its kind in the book.  For the rest of the characters, including me, other mothering is more revelation than rehabilitation.  I hope the book leaves the readers in the same warm glow.

The Other Mother: A Rememoir by Teresa Bruce

Tell us about your one thing...