Moonlight on Linoleum

A Daughter's Memoir

By: Terry Helwig

Narrated by: Ann Richardson

Even if others abandon you, you must never abandon yourself. This simple truth became Terry Helwig’s lifeline as she was forced to grow up too soon. Terry grew up the oldest of six girls in the big-sky country of the American Southwest, where she attended 12 schools in 11 years.

Helwig’s stepfather, Davy, a good-hearted and loving man, proudly purchased a mobile home to enable his family to move more easily from one oil town to another, where Davy eked out a living in the oil fields. Terry’s mother, Carola Jean, a wild rose whose love often pierced those who tried to claim her, had little interest in the confines of home and motherhood. In Davy’s absence, she sought companionship in local watering holes—a pastime she dubbed "visiting Timbuktu". She repeatedly left Terry in charge of the household and her five younger sisters. Despite Carola Jean’s genuine attempts to “better herself”, her life spiraled ever downward as Terry struggled to keep the family whole. In the midst of transience and upheaval, Terry and her sisters forged an uncommon bond of sisterhood that withstood the erosion of Davy and Carola Jean’s marriage. But ultimately, to keep her own dreams alive, Terry had to decide when to hold on to what she loved and when to let go.

Unflinching in its portrayal, yet told with humor and compassion, Terry Helwig’s luminous memoir, Moonlight on Linoleum, explores a family’s inner and outer landscapes of hope, despair, and redemption. It will make you laugh, cry, and hunger for more.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2011 Terry Helwig (P)2011 Oasis

Mining amber from echos

Terry submits her childhood as that of finding amber in her journey to Africa. As the holder of one of the amber beads she returned home with, I needed a lifetime to sort through the echos of my childhood. Terry was born with wisdom that sometimes amazed me, and upon the third reading of her book, I have come to appreciate peace from chaos. The telling of our story was carefully mined to touch the world with beauty. It is its own reward to use forgiveness as the paintbrush of truth. I hope that those who spend time within the pages of our life will find strength to see the glistening beams of light that can be found in the darkness at midnight.

refreshing

I say it's refreshing because regardless of how poorly she was treated... She still loved her mother and she still talked as kindly as she could about her.

I like that she left out a lot of the gory details that we can all assume happened. It actually needed a pleasure to read.
performance was excellent