Elliott I. Committed Suicide and Had a Sister Dorothy . . .
The impetus for Telling Sonny, which was released by Adelaide Books in December 2018, came from a scribbled note from my mother after my father died in 2000: “Elliott I. committed suicide and had a sister Dorothy.” (My father was Elliott Francis; his father was Elliott Irving.) I found it such an odd juxtaposition of facts that I just couldn’t get it out of my head. I wrote a poem, “My Father’s Side of the Family,” using that sentence as the first two lines, but it kept rattling around in my head until I finally decided I had to go in search of Elliott I. myself.
Telling Sonny is the story of a son who became an afterthought, told by a mother who had once loved the vaudeville show, available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Q7mc9u .
There are so many stories in these photos. So it wasn’t until after your dad died that you found out that your grandfather had committed suicide? That must’ve come as a great shock.
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He died before I was born, and he’s always been pretty much a cipher.
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I’m so eager to start this story, Liz. What a sad and heart-catching introduction.
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I am so happy to hear it! I hope you enjoy it.
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This sounds like a fabulous book–I’m eager to read it, will order it soon. You sound like a deeply caring person–we need more like you ❤
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Thank you so much for your kind words, Rhen! I hope you enjoy Telling Sonny.
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Glad to hear you are writing your family stories! Your grandchildren will thank you one day! Even the sad stories are important to tell!
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Thanks! (Although I do embroider the truth, and in some instances make it up out of whole cloth.)
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I would love to read it, every family has some secrets hidden in old photographs, anecdotes. Thanks for sharing it, seems a riveting tale.
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Thanks, Tanya! I hope you do read it.
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I bought Telling Sonny on Amazon the other day. I hope to read and review it in January.
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Oh, I’m so pleased! I hope you enjoy it.
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Can’t wait to get started! As usual I’m posting from beneath the huge mountain that is my TBR pile.
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😀
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