Book Review - Teresa Sullivan's Mikey and Me: Life with my Exceptional Sister

Thank You to She Writes Press for providing me with an advance copy of Teresa Sullivan's memoir, Mikey and Me: Life with my Exceptional Sister, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - In her memoir, Mikey and Me: Life with my Exceptional Sister, Teresa Sullivan recounts growing up with her older sister, Micky, who is blind, non-verbal, and has brain damage. Although her entire family loves Mikey immensely and they do everything possible to make Mikey's life better, caring for Mikey takes a toll on everyone. Sullivan's memoir explores the impact of Mikey and how having a special needs sibling shaped her life.

LIKE - I couldn't put Sullivan's memoir down and I read it in one sitting. The specifics of Sullivan's story and her willingness to share her life in a raw, honest manner, made her memoir a page-turner. I just kept reading, because I had to know if Mikey and the rest of her family were going to be okay. It's an intense and uncertain read.

Although they try their best to keep Mikey at home, an incident occurs where the courts get involved and Mikey is placed into a facility against her families wishes. They visit her at every opportunity, including visits where she is allowed to come home for the weekend, but Mikey's placement in a facility forever changes Sullivan's family. A piece is missing without Mikey and they all feel guilt in their inability to protect her, especially when they discover that she is being abused in the system. Sullivan turns to drugs and wild behavior in her teen years, her mother gambles and has an affair, and her father turns to alcohol. The entire family dynamic breaks down. It's heartbreaking, especially the horrific abuse Mikey suffers.

Mikey and Me made me feel shattered. I finished it last week and couldn't manage to write the review until today, because I'm still deeply affected and upset by what I read.

DISLIKE- Nothing. The subject matter is tough to read, but Sullivan has written a beautiful tribute to her sister. There is so much love that she has for Mikey.

RECOMMEND- Yes. Mikey and Me is a devastating memoir, but also an important one. Although, as a society we have come a long way in understanding and integrating people with special needs ( especially during the 60's/70's where a bulk of Sullivan's memoir takes place), there is much more than should be done. Sullivan shares not only her experiences with her sister, but she speaks for other families with loved ones who have special needs. She speaks to a need for not only showing compassion and protecting, but to also inclusion for vulnerable members of our society. She also speaks for siblings, who often transition into a caregiving role as their parent's age and pass away. This is an important memoir. 

Summer 2016- The Road to Las Vegas

We have turned into "those people." You know, the people who take their kids to Las Vegas for a family vacation. We didn't initially intend on taking them to Vegas, but flights from McCarron to Orlando, were cheaper than from LAX, and Vegas is a fairly easy drive from our home in Big Bear Lake. The more we thought about it, we decided that it would be easier to spend a few nights in Vegas prior to our flight to Disney World, as a way to break up the travel time. Plus, Vegas has amazing pools and all of those shows. It was actually a great place to take the kids, but more on that later. First, the three hour drive to Sin City.

It was a boiling hot day in late July, so we opted for an early start. Our first stop was Peggy Sue's 50's Diner for breakfast. This was a little over an hour into our drive. 

The restaurant was almost completely empty and we had an entire section to ourselves. The kids loved the fun pop-culture decor and the pancakes. I love the kitschy dinosaur and King Kong sculptures in the back garden. Also the ducks; I always need to visit the duck pond at Peggy Sue's. They have ducks with mohawks!

My favorite picture from the entire vacation is this one of Zoe reacting to the mannequin in the women's restroom. We both jumped when we first walked in and it took us a second to realize it's a joke. Zoe makes the best funny faces.

Next stop, was Calico Ghost Town.

Dan and I had briefly visited Calico a few years ago with Dan's parents, but it was late in the day and most of the attractions were closed. This time, we intended a more leisurely visit. It was about ten am and the temperature was climbing. I normally love hot weather; the hotter the better, but even I was having a difficulty handling the heat. It was the kind of heat where you're dripping in sweat and all of your clothes are sticking to your body. Zoe and Felix are from Sweden and definitely not used to the desert heat. They were troopers though, excited to explore Calico. We purchased many bottles of ice-cold water during our short visit.

Calico hit its peak in the late 1800's as a silver mining town. We learned that there is still plenty of silver in the mines, but the cost to mine it well exceeds the profit that you'd make from the metal. In the fifties, Walter Knott ( of Knott's Berry Farm fame) purchased the town as a living history project and in the sixties it was turned into a California Historical Landmark.

The town is free to visit, but there is a small charge for each attraction. We paid thirty dollars as a family to do the Maggie Mine self-guided tour, The Mystery Shack, and to pan for gold. We also paid fourteen dollars so we could ride on the Calico Odessa Railroad.

First up was Maggie Mine. In the mine we saw luminescent rocks and a bunch of creepy miner mannequins. I think this would have been a better experience if it had been guided, rather than self-guided. We didn't learn very much, although it's always fun to walk into tunnels and dark spaces.

A panorama view of Calico.

It's been many years since The Mystery Shack was an attraction at Knott's Berry Farm. It was always one of my favorite parts of the theme park. I was thrilled to see that they have a version of The Mystery Shack at Calico. What's even better, is I couldn't detect any differences from the one at Knott's. We has a private tour of the shack and what I loved most was seeing the confusion and smiles from Zoe and Felix, as they exhibited the same wonder towards The Mystery Shack as I had at their age. It was a cool experience to share with them.

If you're unfamiliar with The Mystery Shack, it's basically a bunch of optical illusions and oddities with a guide who tells corny jokes. Very corny jokes. 

By the time we got to the Calico Odessa Train ride, we were ready to leave. Our stay had been less than two hours, but it was simply too hot to be enjoyable. We were melting. The train ride is worth the money, because it gives you a view of the mines that you wouldn't be able to otherwise see. It's a short journey, about ten minutes and there is an automated narration to explain what you're seeing. 

Next stop: Baker, California. We saw "The World's Tallest Thermometer" and more important, we bought cold drinks. 

We don't have any photographs, but the next stop was Buffalo Bill's Hotel and Casino, which is located just over the Nevada/California stateline. Buffalo Bill's has a several theme park style rides and the kids were even brave enough to go on the big rollercoaster called The Desperado with Dan. The Desperado has one of the tallest drops in the country. At that point, I think it might have been the biggest coaster that they had experienced. We also grabbed ice cream cones. Never underestimate the power of rides and ice cream to make kids tolerate a long drive.

The last stop before Vegas was an art installation in the desert called, The Seven Magic Mountains. The colorful stacked rocks remind me of fruity pebbles. I think they're a fun addition to the desert landscape, definitely worth the stop for a photo opportunity. 

Next stop, Luxor!

Movie Review- Home Again

With all of our visitors and our move back to California, I've not seen a movie in over a month. I usually get itchy if I don't see a movie once a week, so over a month was positively soul crushing. This morning, I decided that enough was enough and I took myself to our local cinema.

The Village Theater is small and only had two choices. I really want to see It, but I'm alone in our house for the next week while Dan is away on a business trip, and not only that, but our neighborhood is nearly all rentals, so it's empty around here on week days. My imagination is already overactive and I don't need to add to it with It. My other choice was the latest Reese Witherspoon film, Home Again.

PLOT - Alice Kinney ( Reese Witherspoon) is separated from her husband Austen (Michael Sheen) and has moved back to Los Angeles with her two daughters. On her fortieth birthday, she goes out to dinner with friends and ends up meeting Harry, a handsome younger man (Pico Alexander). Harry and his two friends spend the night partying with Alice's group and they wind up back at Alice's house.

The next morning, Alice's mom (Candice Bergen)  stops by with Alice's daughters and sees the remnants of the party, including the younger men. The men quickly realize that Alice's father was a famous movie director and that her mother was an actress in his films. The men are trying to break into show business and they are blown away to be in the presence of such greatness. Alice's mom is flattered by their attention and convinces Alice to be a patron of the arts by letting them live in her guest house. Alice agrees, but is unsure about her feelings towards Harry and about letting the trio in her messy life. Will the arrangement lead to disaster or can taking a leap of faith change everyone's lives?

LIKE- Home Again made me laugh and left me with the warm fuzzies. It's a sweet story about opening up your heart to possibilities. I was surprised to discover that it wasn't completely predictable, especially in the way that Alice's relationship evolves with the men.

Alice is a wonderful character. What's more, she's relatable. At the start of the film, she's a mess. She is trying to jump start a new business and she feels very conflicted towards her ex-husband, with whom she has not made the leap to filing for divorce. Throughout the film, she slowly grows stronger and more self-assured. These three young men all play a role in getting her back on her feet. I liked that all of the men were flawed, but that they were essentially good people. As Alice mentions multiple times, they are only in their twenties and they are allowed the room to make mistakes. Growing from mistakes and experiences is a central theme of Home Again.

I'm a huge fan of Michael Sheen and he is a scene stealer in Home Again. When Austen decides to show up at Alice's house because he is concerned about the three men who are spending time around his daughters, it leads to some great comedic and tension-filled moments. 

The entire cast really shines, individually and as an ensemble. Particularly well-casted are the two actresses that play Alice and Austen's daughters, Isabel (Lola Flannery) and Rosie (Eden Grace Redfield). No doubt these two girls will go on to bigger careers.

DISLIKE- It's a tad sappy. I like sappy movies. Sometimes they are exactly what you need.

RECOMMEND- Yes. Home Again is a feel good movie. I'm not sure that it needs to be seen on the big screen, but it will definitely be a film that gets tons of repeat airtime on cable networks. It a film I could easily rewatch many times.