Shaping Kate: Coming of Age in the 1950s - A Semi-Memoir (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781539125624)

Vendor: Hazel Stearns
Product type: Books
Format: Paperback
$12.99
$12.99
$12.99
Subtotal: $12.99
WR Book House

Shaping Kate: Coming of Age in the 1950s - A Semi-Memoir

$12.99

Shaping Kate: Coming of Age in the 1950s - A Semi-Memoir

$12.99
Format: Paperback
Description
Description
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Motivated by insatiable curiosity and undaunted by rules, young Kate MacCallum entertains herself in a 1950's world void of television, computers, smart phones or apps. Captivated by her heroes, she envies Huck Finn's freedom and Amelia Earhart's independence. Always looming over Kate's ideas and forbidden plans is the promise of stinging pain from her mother's red plastic belt if her plots fail and she is caught. Mentally, Kate puts her schemes on one tray of the Scales of Justice; on the other she coils the red belt covered with small holes. If Kate's plans outweigh the belt, she proceeds; if they are not worth the guaranteed spanking, she abandons them. When Kate wakes to bloodcurdling screams from the bed next to hers, she discovers a family skeleton; when she wakes to her own terrifying nightmares, she breaks a promise and reveals a horrific secret. Kate reads books and body language. She questions religion, hypocrisy, and authority, and learns about murder, incest, and decapitation. Hell-and-damnation preachers have left Kate uncertain about the church and God, and first kisses have left her puzzled about unfamiliar stirrings of sexual feelings. Ever curious, Kate pressures her mother to explain unfamiliar terms such as shock treatments, falsies, and vagina. Mysteries and the long-awaited freedom of the adult world beckon Kate as surely as the Mississippi River called to Huck Finn and the wide blue skies lured Amelia Earhart. With equal parts of reluctance and eagerness, Kate leaves behind childhood games and sets foot on the inescapable path to womanhood. An excerpt from Shaping Kate "Suddenly, a trap door in the rock wall flew open. A huge, winged, fire-breathing dragon shot up and hovered over her. His eyes blazed, wild and bloodshot, and a crusty forked tongue darted in and out between shooting flames. Gray smoke rushed from his flaring nostrils, and scabby, dirty paws, tipped with thick, yellowed talons, came straight toward her face. Kate screamed and screamed. 'Wake up! Sit up right now! Wake up!' Her mother's face replaced the dragon's head, and the room's overhead light replaced the fire and smoke. Her chest heaved and her heart pounded. Cautiously, she sat up and looked around. Gone were the scaly reptile, the block wall, her dad, and the sidewalk. She was in her bedroom, in her bed, and she was eleven years old, not seven. 'All right, Kate. You're going to tell me-this minute-what's bothering you. This is the fifth night in a row you've had a nightmare. When you tell me what's wrong, they'll stop.' All week, Kate had held back. She didn't want to break her promise, but she hated the horrible nightmares. Maybe if she told, her mother could fix the problem and help Lucy. 'Talk to me. What is it?' Kate knew her mom was out of patience. 'Well . . .' She started, then stopped. 'You told us we shouldn't break promises, and I promised.' Her mother used her no-nonsense voice. 'Sometimes, we have to break promises. When they cover up secrets that are so bad they cause nightmares night after night, they should be broken. Then the problem can be fixed. Is that the kind of promise you made? One that covers bad secrets?' Kate nodded."

Author: Hazel Stearns
ISBN-10: 1539125629
ISBN-13: 9781539125624
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Language: English
Published: 12/13/2016
Pages: 306
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.64d
By Hazel Stearns
By Hazel Stearns
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From the author: "I've always wanted to write and, most of all, I've wanted to write something that would make people laugh. Growing up, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" were two of my favorite books. Later in life I appreciated the television series "Wonder Years" and the movie "A Christmas Story," because they featured the same, simple, everyday humor. "Today, I think kids miss the fun of imagining because everything is presented to them from the time they're born. We children growing up in the early 1950s were the last who had to use imagination. With no television, and years of visualizing, we could come up with the most exaggerated stories and creative forms of entertainment from the simplest stimulation. "In my younger years, the heroes who shaped my life were Huck Finn and Amelia Earhart, who represented freedom and independence, the unsinkable Molly Brown because she never gave up, and Auntie Mame because she wasn't afraid to try something new. "Much later in life, I realized my parents' contributions. My mother taught me to put away emotions until I worked through any crisis. My father implanted the desire to see distant places, the courage to follow my dreams, and the tenacity to start businesses from the kitchen table. Both parents instilled the work ethic that is necessary to be successful. "Now retired and finally writing, "Shaping Kate" is my "something new." The biggest thrill I can imagine is to walk into a room and hear someone laughing at something they're reading from a book I've written. "As I wrote "Shaping Kate," I realized what a wonderful childhood I'd had. If you read the book, I think you'll agree." --Hazel Stearns Stearns was self-employed most of her life. She retired in 2006 from two careers, the first in weekly and promotional newspaper publishing, and the second in real estate brokerage. Born in Texas and raised in the High Desert of Southern California, ten-year-old Hazel Marr moved with her parents from Ontario, CA to Hesperia. In 1950 the tiny town had 325 residents and a one-room school. Those early years stuck in the author's memory throughout her lifetime. Today Stearns lives in Hesperia and is the mother of four and grandmother of three. Her children and grandchildren live nearby in Hesperia and Apple Valley.

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