Scrap: Salvaging a Family

Call me a nerd—I love it when form follows function. Luanne Castle’s memoir, Scrap: Salvaging a Family does just that. Rather than traditional chapters, Luanne uses short (less than one page) vignettes. Thus, the descriptor of the book: “A Memoir in Flash.” Some of the vignetters are linked to the next entry; others stand alone. Together, they quilt together the story of Luanne’s childhood, primarily her relationship with her father and his mom, her grandmother. At a deeper level, the choice of these mini-entries echoes the title. They are scraps, used to salvage a family, in all senses of the word.

Luanne’s choice of micro form for her Scrap memoir works well. The story she shares is not easy. Male anger is a difficult topic for me, and I’m not sure I could have gotten through a traditional telling. This structure gives the reader space to rest before moving on. Time to absorb and reset. The form also focuses on the language. The first several books I read by Luanne were of her poetry. That poetic talent shines through in this telling over and over again.

It’s always hard to write a memoir. It’s doubly hard when the times you’re recalling were traumatic. The hat trick is writing a memoir that takes those times of ugliness and creates artistic beauty. Scrap accomplishes that admirably, successfully salvaging family relationships along the way.