Just out., March 01, 1987, Page 21, Image 21

Fragile relationships survive self-discovery
Two lesbians in San Francisco face challenges to harmonious
relationships in a demanding and dehumanizing
society; alcoholism and childhood sexual
abuse heighten the familiar plot.
these problems. Such optimism is refresh­
ing after being inundated with literature
that is thick with defeat. Yet, the serious
reader looks for connections where none
existed before; looks to enlarge their per­
spective of the world. I was disappointed
to find that in this novel not only is the plot
familiar, but so is the resolution.
•
Before you set out, don’t foiget to
explore the travel journals of those who
have gone before you. Many writers, from
Henry James and Gertrude Stein to Paul
Theroux and Julia Kristeva, have written
about their travels. Their insights can be
worth a pile of guidebooks.
•
— W. C. McRae
falls short.
The story is narrated by Georgia’s best
friend
Bernice, in a partially credible
Leave A Light On For Me
Carolina dialect, to a group of women eat­
by Jean Swallow
Spinsters/Aunt Lute Paperback $8.95 ing popcorn (laced with tamari and brew­
er’s yeast) and drinking herbal tea. And so
eorgia and Morgan are coming un­ we begin:
There’s a story here what wants telling.
glued. Georgia's mother is dying;
Get comfy now . . . Y’all got enough
Morgan's friend is dying. Both are
overworked, yet dissatisfied with their tea? Popcorn . . . It’s one of those
stories that's got a happy ending.
jobs. Both are haunted by an abusive
The insights Bernice ultimately offers are
A guide to
as simplistic as this cozy setting. She helps
Georgia out of the depths of despair by
guidebooks
asking her to repeat what she refers to as
eading a guidebook before you set
her “morning witchery’:
out on vacation can provide you
/ am a child of the universe. And as such
childhood. And. after five years there is
with valuable information, prevent
l
got
the
rights
of
all
children.
I
got
the
not enough sexual passion left in their
you from dreaming too undisciplinedly
right to he alive, I got the right to have
relationship to hold it together under the
At BreatheFree, we're proud to be
about
your
destination, and be a source of
my
own
space
in
the
world
and
the
right
weight of these pressures. The plot of Jean
the
leading stop smoking program in
pleasure in itself.
to be happy. / got the power to make it
Swallow’s new novel Leave A Light On
Oregon. We know that we're #1
through this day. I can get what I need
Not all guides are created equal. Before
For Me is familiar to many of us. We have
because hundreds of successful
and
trust
the
universe
works
to
take
care
you
invest
(some
are
costly),
be
sure
you
ex-smokers continue to give us their
lived it or are perhaps in the midst of it. Yet
of the rest.
are getting the information you want.
vote of confidence by telling their
misfortune teaches us most of what we
Later
Bernice
relates
the
strength
that
There
are
several
gay
guides
on
the
friends about us.
know of our capacity for strength, courage Georgia finds within herself:
Since 1980, we've been teaching
market, each for different audiences.
and integrity. As Georgia and Morgan
She
turned
to
me,
face
like
a
child’s
people
like yourself, to stop smoking
Gaia
s
Guide
(self-published,
revised
confront their problems in the context of a
in
just
5
days. If we don't do the same
desperate
and
asking.
She
looked
at
me
yearly, $9.50) is a great reference for
demanding and often dehumanizing soci­
for
you
.
. . you pay nothing at all!
and finally she said, ‘ ‘I got to make it
women, containing an international listing
ety they undergo such a process of self-
Our full year, active follow-up ensures
myself, don’t I , . . It's not some place
of services, hotels, restaurants, businesses,
discovery. Their challenge is to find a way
that your success is good for life.
you go to is it? . . . ”
and festivals that cater to women. Entries
to live their lives on their own terms. Swal
Call for our schedule of classes at
Although Bernice is the narrator, we do
are listed by state and country, and some
low opens her book with a quote from
the Galleria and Eastmoreland Hospi­
a great deal of the story from
have individualized commentary — not
tal. Then, leave your money at home
Carter Hayward’s Our Passion For Justice experience
the
perspective
of
Georgia,
Morgan,
and
just stars and symbols.
and bring your cigarettes and desire to
that eloquently expresses this theme. “ If I Morgan’s lover, Elizabeth. What we see
stop smoking . . . once and for all!
had only a single line today, it would be to through their eyes is by far the best part of
Places of Interest (Ferrari Publications,
plead with you to remain human — in spite the book. They are strong and sympathetic
prices vary) are gay guides with a more
of all temptation.’’
pronounced
commercial bias. Its four
It is unfortunate that the con­
Set in modem day San Francisco Leave characters.
avatars. Places of Interest to Women,
tinuity is interrupted by Bernice’s folksy
A Light On For Me is the story of two
Places for Men, Places in Europe, and the
women faced with very difficult choices. chatter.
general Places of Interest, provide
Leave A Light On For Me is a book
Georgia, a recovering alcoholic, must de­ which
addresses of businesses, hotels, bars,
I am reluctant to criticize, but at the
STOP SMOKING PPOGrWvA
cide whether or not to reconcile with her same time
some services, and brief introductions to
I
feel
an
obligation
to
do
so.
921 SW Morrison, Portland, 97205
alcoholic family. At the same time she
destinations.
Jean
Swallow
has
written
the
kind
of
novel
The Galleria, Suite 501
agonizes between submitting to the
many
women
want
and
need
to
read.
She
However, at best the guides are a series
243-2881
degrading circumstances of her current job addresses critical social problems and
of
listings;
at
worst
they
are
as
anonymous
and the possibility of failing at a new job; creates characters with the strength to
and symbol-laden as the back of The
and she questions whether her faltering
maintain
their
integrity
under
the
weight
of
Advocate.
relationship with Morgan is worth any
more effort. Morgan, still suffering from
the sexual abuse she experienced as a
child, finds it difficult to commit herself
In Celebration of our
sexually and emotionally. She is tom from
her relationship with Georgia by her
attraction to another woman, and by the
demands of starting her own business.
Morgan must determine her priorities if
she hopes to ever maintain a long term
relationship with a woman. Both Morgan
Frozen Yogurt Stores
and Georgia choose to affirm their lesbian
identity; a choice which costs them the
(Next to Kitchen Kaboodle)
friendship and support of important people
in their lives.
VALID ONLY ON
The temptation in a dysfunctioning
society is to choose safety at the expense of
NO COUPON
freedom. When circumstances encourage
OR PURCHASE
us to reject our childhood, to submit to
degradation, to deny our sexual identity, to
FROM 11 A.M. to 11 P.M.
NECESSARY!
dull our pain with alcohol, resistance is
both physically and emotionally risky. Yet
LIMIT ONE
with every compromise we lose some of
PER PERSON
AT NEW NW STORE ONLY!
the larger freedom to fully blossom. Leave
A Light On For Me aspires to offer some
Other Locations
Beaverton Town Square
Lower Boones Ferry Rd.
363 S. State St.
compelling insights into the dynamics of
& 1-5, Tualatin
Lake Oswego, OR
this struggle; but this is where the book
BY
KATHERINE
WHITE
PINK P L AQUE
GUI DE
G
R
*
*
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OPENING:
N.W. 23rd and FLANDERS
I Can’t Believe Its
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FREE 4 oz. YOGURT
to Any Adult or Child Accompanied by an Adult
Just Out 21 March. 1987