Pigs Can't Swim

Pigs Can't Swim

Adult autobiography
In her childhood memoir, Pigs Can't Swim, Helen Peppe describes
a fourth grade experience. She was studying pictures of mothers
brought in for a classroom assignment. "...Did those mothers chase
teenage children who smelled of beer, sex, and cigarettes with bars of
soap or branches from the weeping willow tree, the broom, or the
yardstick? Was there daily bemoaning over the cost of white bread,
whole milk, and gasoline? Did cups, potatoes, and corn cobs get
thrown at people during supper?..."
No doubt about it, Peppe's description of her growing up years,
from her early discovery that Thanksgiving was about killing animals
through a false teen pregnancy scare is enthralling. There are shades
of Jeanette Wall, Carolyn Chute, and even Stephen King in her
narrative. Still her voice is unique.
Peppe was the youngest of nine children born into a very
challenged family in rural Maine. As the littlest, she was the
designated lookout while older siblings smoked, drank, and fooled
around during parental absences. This role filled her with anxiety.
Her mother was explosive in her anger if rules were broken. At the
same time she seemed to expect every transgression in the book and
blame her children, even when they were not at fault. In one episode
when Peppe was in seventh grade a hunting friend of her brother in an
unhappy marriage gained her confidence and introduced her to oral
sex. Her parents did not believe her at first. Then they called her
a slut and asked how she could have done such a thing.
As a young child Peppe saw her parents as larger than life and
terrifyingly powerful in their ability to interogate and punish.
Toward the end of the book they start to shrink, coping to struggle in
a world where even feeding a vast brood involves constant labor and
supplementing the paycheck with gardening, raising food animals, and
hunting; where emergencies crop up with alarming frequency; where her
father tries to keep her from discovering what he does for work due to
shame; and where outsiders including teachers expect the worst from
any child bearing their last name. Her journey from fear to
compassion is an amazing one and makes her narrative eminently worth
reading.
On a personal note, I can relate to money worries. Joey Cat is due
for his twice yearly check up. They always cost more than the
estimate even though I care for him very conscientiously. I spend my
whole school committee stipend on cat care and walk between Orono and
Veazie to add bus fare to the mix. I just hope and pray this time
I'll have enough.
A prayer goes up for all who face financial challenges.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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