WILMINGTON — Join Bartleby's Books for an event with author Ann McCloskey on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 4 p.m. Her memoir, These Dreams of You: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Resilience, tells the story of a mother's love for and commitment to her gifted daughter, who developed anorexia at age 10 and subsequently died young.
The narrative offers an unvarnished account of the 15 years the author strove to save her daughter from her perfectionistic goal of being the thinnest person alive. It then follows the author's intentional yet heart-wrenching shift from trying to get her daughter to overcome her eating disorder to supporting her as she lived out her short life in the way she chose.
Interspersed throughout the narrative are several lyrical letters written by a mother to her beloved daughter since her death. "This story conveys hope and resilience, as the author has prevailed through her grief with no regrets about her parenting of her challenging daughter," note the news release.
McCloskey earned a bachelor's degree in social work and a master's degree in counseling psychology. She spent two decades training clinical mental health counselors in a graduate program at Antioch University, while also working as a licensed clinical mental health counselor. She subsequently spent 14 years teaching psychology at a small college serving students with learning differences.
With her husband, Joe Meyer, McCloskey raised two daughters in rural Vermont. This is her first book.
Bartleby's Books is located at 17 West Main St. in historic downtown Wilmington. For more information, contact Bartleby's at 802-464-5425, [email protected] or visit myvermontbookstore.com.
This The Arts item was submitted to The Commons.