Anchored Together: A Novel

by Renee Garrison, Elizabeth Babski (Artist), Philip S Marks (Editor)

Overview

Being the only girl in a private boys’ boarding school has its advantages:

There’s not much competition for the cheer-leading squad. (And plenty of opportunities to flirt and fall in love.) But it has disadvantages, too, especially if your father is an alcoholic.

Sixteen-year-old Suzette LeBlanc moved into the Sanford Naval Academy when her father became the school Commandant. She’s gaining confidence, but her father’s drinking is on the rise, a fact her mother seems to ignore. She finds strength in her friends and finds love with the battalion commander (a.k.a. senior class president) who also must deal with an alcoholic parent. They share their pain, their coping strategies, but can they share a future?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950075157
Publisher:	DocUmeant Publishing
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.39(d)
Age Range:	13 - 16 Years

Editorial Reviews

This is a delightfully, sensitive sequel to Renee Garrison’s award-winning book, The Anchor Clankers. With wit, poignancy and daring realism Renee addresses the predictable struggles of Suzette, a teenage girl in an all-male, naval boarding school. She deals with first loves, inevitable rejections, intricate friendships, teenage embarrassments, all in the delightful setting of Sanford, Florida in the 1970’s. Finding herself and struggling to understand and cope with her parents and their unwillingness to deal with their own issues.

As a family therapist for 20 years I applaud Renee’s ability to address the delicate issues of alcoholism and the effects on a family.

A good read for anyone - teenagers, adults and individuals who can relate to the complexities of growing up with an addictive parent.

Diane Zeidwig

As a Director of Celebrate Recovery, I often deal with the aftermath of addictions. I think Renee did a magnificent job depicting the chaotic and often negative impact of growing up with an alcoholic parent. Unpredictable mood swings, Jekyll-and-Hyde behavior and often hostility. Renee has an incredible ability to make you feel like you’re sitting in this family’s living room watching them struggle, love, disconnect, reconnect and strive for normalcy. It is a beautifully written novel for any age, that reminds us that growing up is not always easy. I recommend this book to many clients and love this charming story of a young girl growing up in a unique environment.

Joe Heagy

From the Publisher

2020-10-29
In Garrison’s YA sequel, a high school girl falls in love and deals with an alcoholic father.

This follow-up to The Anchor Clankers (2017) takes place in 1972, a year after 16-year-old Suzette LeBlanc moved from Massachusetts to Florida. Her father is the commandant of the Sanford Naval Academy, a private boarding school for boys, and the family lives in an apartment below the midshipmen’s dorm. The previous year, Suzette made friends with several “Anchor Clankers,” as naval students are called. She finds herself attracted to 18-year-old academy senior John Elliott, and they share something in common: Their fathers are both problem drinkers, and both teens understand what it’s like to walk on eggshells, never knowing what might set off a tirade or cause public embarrassment. As their romance heats up, Suzette and John find a sense of refuge in each other. They pledge to stay a couple when John goes off to college, but their love is threatened by his family’s disapproval and by the jealousy of John’s so-called friend Gary. Suzette must make some grown-up decisions about what’s best for the relationship while also realizing that she can’t be responsible for her dad’s actions. Garrison takes what could be a simple tale of first love and gives it depth by delving into the serious issue of alcoholism, particularly how it can cause disturbing personality changes in loved ones. In one scene, for example, Suzette’s father drunkenly insists on tickling her foot, gripping her ankle tight enough to hurt her; although the action isn’t floridly abusive, it understandably helps to cement her desire to leave home. Unusually but realistically, this isn’t a recovery narrative; by the end of the novel, Suzette hasn’t followed through on her intention to attend a group for children of alcoholic parents, for example. A few anachronisms detract from the 1972 setting, such as the existence of videotapes and a snarky reference to the “circle of life” from the 1994 film The Lion King.

A coming-of-age novel that offers a sensitive take on familial alcoholism.

Kirkus Reviews