In the middle of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re offering stories about forgotten people on the margins, a memoir about how trees soothe and calm us, and two helpful books for those living with mentally challenged loved ones.
(Courtesy of the University of Minnesota Press)
“Lucky Tomorrow”: by Deborah Jiang-Stein (University of Minnesota Press, $18.95)
Another thing, I dream of ears. Last time I was in the psych wing of the jail, I listened less than ever before. Thought my dreams would stop that way, the sounds and visions. Sometimes I think I’m over the edge with these visions. Other times pretty sure I’m an intuitive antenna, a direct conduit from the universe. It chimes secrets of wisdom into me and pumps truth through me. — from “Lucky Tomorrow”
This riveting collection of 35 tender/heartbreaking interconnected short stories (the publisher calls them vignettes), begins with evocations of flowers in the life of flower vendor Felma, who had a baby taken from her when she was locked up in Seattle. Felma loves flowers, wants to be them: “If I leave the pollen on me long enough, I figure, it’ll soak into my pores and hair follicles and then I’ll start growing tiny little buds and blossoms of pansies.” Her flower cart sign says: “For a Lucky Tomorrow Buy a Flower Today.”
Later we learn Felma’s little business lasted only a few months. Is she Esther, locked in the prison’s death row psych ward? Thoughts of her daughter, taken away right after her birth, are always part of Esther’s semi-coherent thoughts even though she’s been in prison for decades. The writing in Esther’s stories is chilling as, for instance, we witness the feces-smearing woman across the hall being led to the death chamber.
Other characters include outcasts, visionaries and eccentrics — all of whom live on the margins as unseen — a former priest, a girl trapped in working her family’s candy stand, a woman who learned preaching from her brother and is a caretaker for her dying housemate. The settings move from Seattle to Tokyo to Minneapolis.
It isn’t a spoiler to reveal this collection ends with hope as Esther’s daughter is given boxes of small cafeteria paper napkins covered with her mother’s drawings of flowers.
Jiang-Stein, born in an Appalachian prison, is author of the memoir “Prison Baby.” She’s a writer, public speaker, collaborator and founder of the unPrison Project, working with and mentoring people in prisons to build life skills. Her sympathy for the unseen, forgotten and mentally unwell permeates this collection.
Jiang-Stein will launch her book at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 29, at Children’s Theater Company, 2400 Third Ave. S., Mpls., in conversation with Sha Cage, artist, writer and director. Free, advance registration required at z.umn.edu/52925. She will also be in conversation with author, teacher and writer’s advocate Carolyn Holbrook at 6 p.m. June 2 at Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Ave., Mpls.
(Courtesy of Holy Cow! Press)
“Tree Trek: A Daughter’s Walk Through Grief”: by Stephanie Mirocha (Holy Cow! Press, $18)
As I finished crossing the pedestrian bridge that day on my way back, instead of looking straight ahead at the Lily Pond as I usually did, for some reason my head turned to the left and my gaze fell directly on an Ohio buckeye tree. On its trunk was one of my dad’s tree ID signs shining starkly as if looking at me, drawing my attention to it like an arrow. It was the first time I had ever noticed one of his tree signs I’d heard about from vague references slipped into conversations… — from “Tree Trek”
Science, biology, ruminations on nature and family memories intertwine in this debut from a woman who inherited her love of trees. It is a pleasure to read.
“This book is the story of losing my father, the pillar of my life, and of trees, the silent partners who stood with me along the way,” she writes. Each chapter title names a tree, from Basswood and Spruce to Ginkgo and Hackberry, as well as the author’s personal connection.
Mirocha, who lives in Aitkin, grew up climbing trees and riding her bike in Como Park where she learned about trees from her dad, Chet Mirocha, a University of Minnesota professor of plant pathology. In 2004 Chet Mirocha began leading treks through the Como Park trees and later started attaching ID tags to them. After her dad’s death in 2019, Stephanie continued his work leading educational Tree Treks in the park and tagging trees.
There are plenty of nature books about the importance of animals, insects and flowers, but too often we take trees for granted. “Trees have much to share with us beyond shade, oxygen, wood products, food, and their beauty,” Mirocha writes. “Living alongside us as we grow and age, sometimes for our entire lifetimes, they calmly and quietly connect us to those who came before us and to those who will come after we are gone. Trees are always available to hold our memories, joys, sorrows, and major life events in their strong branches while we attempt to explain ourselves.”
Mirocha illustrated four picture books connecting children to nature, including “Frog in the House” and “My Little Book of Bald Eagles,” both award-winners. She earned a degree in philosophy from the University of Minnesota and is a Minnesota Master Naturalist.
A book launch will be hosted by Mirocha at 7 p.m. Thursday at Northland Arboretum in Brainerd and she will sign books May 31 at Zenith Bookstore in Duluth. In St. Paul she will sign from 1:30 to 3 p.m. June 21 at Garden Safari Gifs, 1225 Estabrook Drive (Como Park), and 4 p.m. June 21 at Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave.
“Loving Someone with a Mental Illness or History of Trauma” (Johns Hopkins University Press, $22.95) and “I’m Not Alone” (Seeds of Hope Books, $22.95): by Michelle D. Sherman and De Anne Sherman.
Michelle Sherman is a Roseville-based psychologist and her mother, De Anne, is an educator/advocate in Woodbury.
Their book “Loving Someone…”, subtitled “Skills, Hope, and Strength for Your Journey,” is an interactive paperback that offers space for the reader’s thoughts and experiences. Sections include Reflecting on Your Experience, Supporting Your Loved One, Strengthening Your Relationship With Your Loved One, and managing common challenges. They address the emotional journey, coping tools, empowerment, communication, limit setting, addictive behaviors and possible impacts of trauma. Written in clear language, this workbook is for individuals or helping groups.
“I’m Not Alone” is an interactive teen guide to living with parents who have a mental illness or history of trauma. This is an updated and expanded second edition. Young readers should be hopeful as they delve into the book because on the first page it promises “You are not alone,” emphasizing that confusion, worry, fear and anger are common feelings when living with an impaired parent. The young reader will learn about causes, symptoms, and treatment of mental illness/post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as the possibility of recovery, healthy coping skills, tools for talking with your friends, how to identify people who can support you, strategies to strengthen your relationship with your parent and how to strengthen the reader’s own mental health.
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