Stitches: David's Memories

The book Stitches: A Memoir by David Small, is a sad book about a kid who has to deal with a family that never give him love and protection. His mother is a frustrated woman named Betty that never pays attention to her children. Ed, David's father, is always working and barely is at home, David's brother, Ted, is always playing the drums. David wants to have attention and love, but those seem impossible.Through imagination and dreams, David tries to cope with unfulfilled desires and unmet needs.

One thing that got my attention was how David expresses his imagination. One time he went to the hospital where his father works. David's mother told him that he could play, but not with the wheelchairs or close to the elevator. He deliberately disobeys her orders. He playes with the wheelchairs and uses the elevator. He goes to the fourth floor, a place where he has never gone, and he sees a fetus in a bottle. Suddenly, it transforms into a little man and follows David, who runs to where his mother was. This imagination symbolizes the fear that most children have because they are afraid to the unknown. He does not know what that strange little man is. Also nobody is working in that place and he is alone. That makes him create all kinds of crazy things in his imagination. In addition, he knows that he is doing something wrong because he disobeys his mother; he knows that he can be in trouble.

David loves the book Alice in Wonderland because it reflects all that he wants to have. He likes the rabbit that digs a hole, and the magic of Alice's hair that allows her to be in the land of talking animals as well as her interaction with characters who could be his friends, singing flowers, and the dancing teapot. Everything is symbolic because the hole is David's house because it is dark and silent place, and the other land is the place where he wants to go; a place with many happy people gathering, talking, and having fun.

My attention was captured when I saw the way David's mother acts. She is selfish and careless with her sons. She also acts as if she is against everything David does. On one occasion, she has a party in her house, and one of her friends discovers a growth in David's neck. David's mother does not worry for him. Instead, she makes comments about how David ruined the party because of his growth. I cannot understand how a mother, that is symbol of love, patient, and dedication to her children, is not concerned for her son's health. A mother always wants the best for her children. When there is something happening that is serious, a normal reaction is to worry, and trying to find help immediately, but she seems more worried about money than in her own son.

David had two surgeries in his neck because he had cancer. While he goes home after his surgery, David wants to see his neck. He is surprised of how big it is. Then, he goes to sleep and has a nightmare. It is about  a bat that is scared because he is under a thunderstorm. He is looking desperately for his mother's protection. He sees an umbrella and runs to hug it as if it was his mom. Then, he tries to open it, but when he does, he finds it is broken, so he continues without protection under the rain.This dream represents his need to feel safe under his mother care.The umbrella represents protections that he is looking for, but when it is broken, is that this protection does not exist, so he continues unprotected.

I enjoyed reading the book because it makes empathize with his feelings. I was also sad for him because he suffers a lot during his childhood. It is not easy to cope with a similar situation because all children want to have the love and protection of their families. David was only trying to find his mother's love, but he could not obtain. Even though, his imagination helps him deal with it, love cannot be replaced by anything and much less when it is a mother's love.