Post B week 2

In the next section of the book there is a flashback of Alice’s life before the rape. She lived in an old and small town in Paoli, Pennsylvania. Her mother was an alcoholic and her parents had a love-hate relationship that had no “touch.” They would never show any kind of emotion towards each other. I think this was hard for Alice growing up because she didn’t know what a healthy relationship was like. By 1997 her mom had stayed sober for 10 years but began having a disorder called "flaps". They were basically extreme mood swings. She would have bad anxiety, go crazy and panic. This would be frustrating to have a mom who couldn’t function normally. Also, to see someone you love so much be in so much pain daily. Alice had two basset hounds. Their names were Feijoo and Belle. She would spend a lot of her time playing games with her dogs. She also was apart of her high school marching band. She didn’t particularly enjoy that crowd of people and eventually quit. I think if you don’t enjoy something, it is a waste of time to do something you don’t like. She then had her secret dream of becoming an actress on Broadway. Her inspiration was Ethel Merman, a loud and outgoing actress on Broadway. Because of Alice’s dream, her mom surprised her with a trip to New York. But before they could see much, her mom had one of her “flaps.” Alice insisted that they should go home because her mom was miserable. I thought this was very mature and considerate of her, especially since she was so excited for the trip. She knew her mom wouldn’t enjoy the trip from her condition and she couldn’t enjoy it if she wasn’t. They ended up getting a cab and headed their way home. Alice must have been extremely disappointed but didn’t let it show so her mom wouldn’t feel guilty.