Relatively Criminal: A Memoir

by Donna Abear

Overview

Estranged from her highly-dysfunctional childhood family and an escapee from an unhappy marriage, a divorced mother of two makes an impulsive decision to provide a temporary home to her younger brother. The catch? He's on parole. Unaware of her brother Frank's lengthy criminal record, Donna takes him in and devotes herself to the idea that she can help rehabilitate him. The book chronicles their lives and relationship for a dozen roller coaster years of friendship, rock 'n roll, courts, crime, drugs, AIDs and unconditional love, as she tries to save him...from himself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780967710112
Publisher:	Moonshadow Books
Publication date:	07/31/2013
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Donna Abear lives in northern Illinois with her loving husband, one (and sometimes two) of her four children, and two quirky dogs who worship her without good reason. Formerly an award-winning humor columnist, she is the author of a humor book, "Mom...You're Not Naked, Are You?", and a play "Sprucey, the Blue Christmas Tree".

Editorial Reviews

2014-07-08
Abear's (Mom…You'reNot Naked, Are You?, 2000) memoir tells the story of her close-knitrelationship with her brother, a lifelong criminal and addict, and herattempts to care for him.In1983, the author had just gotten out of a dead-end marriage when her youngerbrother, Frank, contacted her from prison. Although she hadn't talked with him foryears, she agreed to let him live with her and her two young sons once he wasparoled. They both grew up in a household with an aloof, self-absorbed motherand a predatory stepfather, and they now began to depend increasingly upon eachother for emotional support. However, she soon realized that despite their bondand Frank's childlike, gregarious good nature, she couldn't do anything to turnhim away from a life of drugs and theft. She continued to support him,appearing for his court dates, pleading with public defenders and visiting himin prison as his life spiraled further out of control. Abear remarried, and herlife began to flourish, while Frank continued to steal to finance hisdependence on hard drugs—despite a nearly fatal staph infection and an eventualHIV diagnosis. Abear perfectly captures the 1980s zeitgeist, and her often darkhumor hits the mark, as when she tells the story of when her brother, mistakenlyreleased from jail, stole a car and broke into a condom machine before policepicked him up. (The author quips that she was "sure the drunken datingpopulation in the area was happy to see the local rubber supply return tonormal.") Although she never seeks to excuse her brother's lifestyle, Abear showshow he was repeatedly denied access to drug-treatment programs, drawingattention to a system that's more invested in punishment than rehabilitation.Ahilarious, heartbreaking and poignant story of family ties that bind, againstall odds.

Kirkus Reviews