Don't Say a Word: A Daughter's Two Cents
Edna and Leo, a perpetually warring, tyrannical pair in their 80s, begin wintering In Mexico, where they abandon their usual prudence to embrace adventure and a bevy of sketchy new friends. Soon, Edna adopts a pair of shyster builders whom she trusts over her own architect-daughter Elizabeth, and a farcical house results. Blithely indifferent to the calamities that result, the pair refuse all help from their too-compliant only child. Later, following her mother’s sudden death, Elizabeth’s wise, principled father attempts to fill his late wife’s shoes with a string of loopy, live-in housekeepers—with privileges, he hopes. Before it is over the Mexican escapade will bring down the kind of disasters commonly found in pulp fiction. Why can’t Elizabeth stop any of this from happening? No matter the madness, she cannot confront her parents any more than she ever could. In the end, the surprising way in which they come undone reveals just what they spent their lives trying to hide, thereby setting her free. Though unique in its loony details, Don’t Say A Word! will resonate with beleaguered adult-children everywhere who will recognize the special misery of watching, helpless, as stubborn, diminished parents careen precariously toward the end of life.
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Don't Say a Word: A Daughter's Two Cents
Edna and Leo, a perpetually warring, tyrannical pair in their 80s, begin wintering In Mexico, where they abandon their usual prudence to embrace adventure and a bevy of sketchy new friends. Soon, Edna adopts a pair of shyster builders whom she trusts over her own architect-daughter Elizabeth, and a farcical house results. Blithely indifferent to the calamities that result, the pair refuse all help from their too-compliant only child. Later, following her mother’s sudden death, Elizabeth’s wise, principled father attempts to fill his late wife’s shoes with a string of loopy, live-in housekeepers—with privileges, he hopes. Before it is over the Mexican escapade will bring down the kind of disasters commonly found in pulp fiction. Why can’t Elizabeth stop any of this from happening? No matter the madness, she cannot confront her parents any more than she ever could. In the end, the surprising way in which they come undone reveals just what they spent their lives trying to hide, thereby setting her free. Though unique in its loony details, Don’t Say A Word! will resonate with beleaguered adult-children everywhere who will recognize the special misery of watching, helpless, as stubborn, diminished parents careen precariously toward the end of life.
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Don't Say a Word: A Daughter's Two Cents

Don't Say a Word: A Daughter's Two Cents

by Elizabeth Roper Marcus
Don't Say a Word: A Daughter's Two Cents

Don't Say a Word: A Daughter's Two Cents

by Elizabeth Roper Marcus

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Overview

Edna and Leo, a perpetually warring, tyrannical pair in their 80s, begin wintering In Mexico, where they abandon their usual prudence to embrace adventure and a bevy of sketchy new friends. Soon, Edna adopts a pair of shyster builders whom she trusts over her own architect-daughter Elizabeth, and a farcical house results. Blithely indifferent to the calamities that result, the pair refuse all help from their too-compliant only child. Later, following her mother’s sudden death, Elizabeth’s wise, principled father attempts to fill his late wife’s shoes with a string of loopy, live-in housekeepers—with privileges, he hopes. Before it is over the Mexican escapade will bring down the kind of disasters commonly found in pulp fiction. Why can’t Elizabeth stop any of this from happening? No matter the madness, she cannot confront her parents any more than she ever could. In the end, the surprising way in which they come undone reveals just what they spent their lives trying to hide, thereby setting her free. Though unique in its loony details, Don’t Say A Word! will resonate with beleaguered adult-children everywhere who will recognize the special misery of watching, helpless, as stubborn, diminished parents careen precariously toward the end of life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781647420529
Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication date: 05/11/2021
Pages: 303
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth Marcus grew up in Manhattan, the only child of a dentist and a Macy’s dress buyer, the Zeus and Hera of Apartment 2B. After escaping to Boston, she ran a small architectural office for 20 years, when she wasn’t traveling to far-flung places with her psychiatrist husband and rambunctious children. Eventually, she decided to concentrate on writing, which allows her to pursue the many, quirky questions that fascinate her: Why are butterflies called ‘butterflies’? Why can’t she recall the taste of wines? Why are first-love memories so potent? Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and Boston Globe, on online sites like Cognoscenti, and in essay anthologies like Travelers’ Tales. “Don’t Say A Word!”: A Daughter’s Two Cents, in 90,571 Words is her first book. She posts essays related to the book at www.eLizWrites.com; she posts essays about everything else at www.archive.eLizWrites.com. She lives in Boston.

Table of Contents

The Tip-off vii

Part 1 All Real Estate, All The Time

Chapter 1 Year 1-Dubious Decisions 3

The Condo 9

The Friends 15

The Partnership 21

The Aftermath 28

Chapter 2 Year 2-Infatuation 31

The Changes 34

The Lot 43

Misgivings 50

Chapter 3 Year 3-Mad Love 57

The Design Process 61

The Parrot House 71

Friends and Relations 75

Chapter 4 Year 4-Settling 83

The Dream House 87

The Quirks 96

Moving On 101

Medical Miracle 110

Chapter 5 Year 5-Contrary to Expectations 113

The Bad News 118

The Parallels 126

The Reality 132

The Future Plans 138

Part 2 Gaga Over Geishas

Chapter 6 Year 5-The Quest 145

The Hunt 150

Candidate #1 157

Breaking Down 166

Chapter 7 Year 6-More So 173

Candidate #2 178

More Misgivings 181

Candidate #3 186

Good Days and Bad 194

Chapter 8 Year 7-A Turning Point 201

The Perfect Companion 204

The Contest 209

The Green-Eyed Monster 215

Chapter 9 Year8-Catastrophes 223

Double Disasters 226

The License 235

Chapter 10 Year 9-A Fresh Perspective 239

Decline and Fall 245

Viewing the Past 250

Recoveries 253

Blessings 258

Chapter 11 Year 10-Putting Two and Two Together 263

Closing In 268

Worse Yet 274

The Letters 277

Afterword-Adiós México 289

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