The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here
The Sky Isn’t Visible from Here: Scenes from a Life
Author: Felicia Sullivan
Publisher: Algonquin Books (February 5, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1565125150
ISBN-13: 978-1565125155
When I got this book, I immediately read the first few pages. I always do this to get an idea of what the book is going to be like. Unfortunately, I got so busy I didn’t have time to pick it up again for a while. This weekend, I had a four-hour car ride as well as a two-hour wait in a doctor’s office. As much as I was upset about having to wait in the doctor’s office, I was actually somewhat upset when I was called back because already 1/4 of the way through the book and didn’t want to put it down! By the time we got to our destination, I had to decide whether I would be considered rude if I sat in the car for another 10 minutes to finish the book - I decided it would, but I did finish it the next day as the guys played with the Wii.
Felicia Sullivan, in a word, is a survivor. Having survived growing up poor and the daughter of an addict in Brooklyn during the 1980s, she seems destined to become her mother as she spirals deeper and deeper into the addiction that took her mother from her slowly over the years. Her memoir takes you on this journey with her.
The book alternates between Sullivan’s childhood in Brooklyn and her adulthood, living life in the city. Everytime the story went from one stage of her life to the other, I greedily gobbled up the pages, trying each time to get back to where she left off. Ms. Sullivan relays her story in such a way that, even if you’ve never experienced addiction in your life, your heartbeat races in time with hers during the highs and slowly descends everytime she crashes.
This was my first time reading a memoir, and I was extremely pleased with my first venture into this genre. Ms. Sullivan’s writing style is not overly complicated. As a matter of fact, I would say it was close to simplistic, but I enjoyed that. I didn’t feel as if she was trying to impress me with her vocabulary, alliteration, or any of those literary devices that get drilled into you in your high school or college Intro to Literature class.
All in all, I would say this is a very good read and would recommend it to anyone, no matter their usual genre “happy place”. I can’t wait to read more about and from Felicia Sullivan.
