My Grandmother's Hair
by Ann Elizabeth Carson
Published 2006 by Edgar Kent Inc., distributed by University of Toronto Press
"Our stories never leave our bodies."
Our family stories make our memories and shape our lives.
"Poignant, honest and endearing," My Grandmother's Hair tells the story of how her art kept Ann Elizabeth Carson alive and showed her the truth as she re-membered and relived the stories her own life embodied.
A study of power and psyche, My Grandmother's Hair delves into personal and social stories about how power is realized and suppressed in the body. This intimate, first person narrative is beautifully rendered in prose, poetry, drawing, painting, sculpture, and interviews with other people. The author explores how the connections of our memories are made in the body and tells the stories of those whose lives and memories are often ignored.
My Grandmother's Hair cracks open with the deeply life-changing story of Ann Carson's grandmother: the moment her husband demanded she cut off her hair, and the single cry of anguish she let out during the act. That story resurfaces, eventually becoming relevant in the author's own life. Carson shows how the myths and archetypes of our culture layer with our memories — spoken or buried, our own or our elders- -and have so much to do with the way we live our lives.
She brings to light the tendency we all have to "live in that twilight zone where you say you believe one thing so you can be part of a community, while quietly living your own truth in order to save your sanity." Then she bravely shares her own healing journey of coming out of the twilight zone
so we may all discover that tapping into the images and languages of our own experience — our memories — can nourish and encourage us.
This book reveals how myth, metaphor and family stories shape our lives. The result is an honest, poignant tale that encourages readers to look more deeply into themselves.
My Grandmother's Hair is available in bookstores and from the University of Toronto Press, or online from:
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Marion Woodman, Jungian Analyst, Author. London, Ontario.
An autobiography told with alarming authenticity. Alarming because it divulges the delights and devestations of being the third generation daughter of a family rooted in small town Ontario. Ann Elizabeth Carson details the resultant psychic spit created in herself. She superbly outlines her healing process through the creative and connecting power of myth, and of her own art work. Readers will look more deeply into themselves.
Regine Kurek, Artist. Director, Arscura School for Art. Richmond Hill.
In this book Ann Elizabeth Carson looks truth squarely in the eye. Art can be terrible. Art is not always fun. But it is honest. Art is not just decorative, or superfluous. Art is necessary, essential for our surival! In fact it could just be that helps us to stay alive, well and sane. There cannot be enough written about this truth and there will never be enough courageous souls who dare to make art for life as the path to wholeness. Fortunately Ann Elizabeth Carson is one of them. A fabulous and creative read!
Maryleah Otto, Journalist, Author. Huntsville.
Your candor, honesty and no-holds barred account stirred powerful feelings and awakened memories. Art work, poetry, narrative- a three dimensional, complex texture disclosing the suppression and marginalization of women-will resonate in our hearts long after the reading, and will have particular appeal for serious minded feminists as well as students of social psychology. More casual readers will also find many riches within these pages.
Margaret Johnston, Anglican Priest. Bracebridge.
When I started reading I was not sure where the journey would take me or where it would end. However, I could not/not take the risk and was compelled to keep reading as my own memories and remembering came flowing into my body and consciousness.
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