Not To Talk About

Not to talk about is the story of a young girl’s journey, through childhood, from birth to adulthood, in a dysfunctional family. Kirsten thinks of herself as different, always looking outside, evaluating.  She lacks the comfort of love and approval from mother and stepfather. The family emigrates from Denmark to Canada, and Kirsten is devastated leaving her beloved grandparents, aunts, uncles, and her close cousins.  The family battles with a new language, shortage of money, alcoholism, physical and emotional abuse, and a devastating health crisis.

Kirsten the eldest child of 3 takes on impossible tasks, attempts to help nurture and resolve family issues and relationships. Still, within her there is a gnawing awareness of loss, a missing connection to her other family. Kirsten knows what she needs in her world and fantasizes about her biological father, whom she has never met. She is convinced that he is an admirable person, and she thinks she is more like him than the family in which she is living with.

Although estranged from her brother Karl, Kirsten is devastated by his suicide. The grief does not stop there.  Kirsten’s Sister Wendy, younger than she by 14 years, an alcoholic and addicted to drugs, reveals her heart-breaking journey to Kirsten when after Wendy’s death a discarded box of her belongings are handed over to Kirsten to dispose of.  Kirsten finds bits of writings revealing the scattered life that her sister lived.

Read this story, talk about it. It is a story for sharing, told with hope… Take responsibility for the choices you make on your journey, know that you can overcome obstacles that lurk to ruin your precious life.  When you become parents, know the importance of love, show affection to, and nurture your children.