Fran Macilvey

I chose this book because my brother has cerebral palsy. I wanted to learn more about his experience, even though he’s in his forties now and we’ve had a long time to get to know each other.
The author grabbed my attention with an incredibly gripping account of her mom in the delivery room, giving birth. She held my attention with her willingness to share her embarrassments, rages, failures. She shed light on how childhood emotions affect an adult life. Really insightful.
She became aware she “… was the child who had things done to her, an ongoing experiment, an improvement project.” And I recalled all the braces, special shoes, and doctor’s visits my brother endured when he was a kid. It made my gut wrench. It wrenched again, when she described the day she started worrying about what would become of her. She was ten. What a burden for a ten-year-old.
In the later chapters, Macilvey turned philosophical, which didn’t hold my interest. For me, the power of the book was in its more intimate moments. Sometimes her writing style was confusing. She frequently referred to her mother and grandmother by their first names. When she described a shabby apartment, I couldn’t tell if she meant an actual apartment, or she was speaking metaphorically about her life.

I do receommend Trapped. Fran Macilvey’s story is important, and I’m glad she told it. It was important for me to learn that, even today, people look through her or simply turn away. The next time someone in a wheelchair rolls past me, I’m going to say hi. The same as I do when people walk past.
… (mehr)