Summary of Laurie Zaleski's Funny Farm

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 In the mid-1970s, the four-lane Black Horse Pike was the main route between Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore, surrounded by farms and farmers’ markets. There were a few billboards.
#2 My mother and her children, Cathy and Stephen, escaped to New Jersey from my father. They lived in a half-house in a clearing in the woods, not fit to live in. Yet, this was their brand-new start.
#3 When we moved into our new house, we made a pitiful sight, lugging our sad little bags. Mom was smiling, but in a strange, fixed way that wasn’t even half-happy. We had been living out of a suitcase, four people shoehorned into a single motel room, sleeping on two narrow beds with thin mattresses and springs that dug into our backs at night.
#4 We would spend our time in hotels or motels, watching TV and eating junk food. Our life was fun while it lasted, but eventually we had to go back home.

Sujets

• Animal rights

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 22 mars 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669357506
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Laurie Zaleski's Funny Farm
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

In the mid-1970s, the four-lane Black Horse Pike was the main route between Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore, surrounded by farms and farmers’ markets. There were a few billboards.

#2

My mother and her children, Cathy and Stephen, escaped to New Jersey from my father. They lived in a half-house in a clearing in the woods, not fit to live in. Yet, this was their brand-new start.

#3

When we moved into our new house, we made a pitiful sight, lugging our sad little bags. Mom was smiling, but in a strange, fixed way that wasn’t even half-happy. We had been living out of a suitcase, four people shoehorned into a single motel room, sleeping on two narrow beds with thin mattresses and springs that dug into our backs at night.

#4

We would spend our time in hotels or motels, watching TV and eating junk food. Our life was fun while it lasted, but eventually we had to go back home.

#5

When we moved into our new house, my mother made it look like a home. She cleared out a lot of the junk, and we had to go outside and relieve ourselves in the woods. We were horrified, but had no choice but to do it.

#6

We had to sleep on the floor of the living room, because there was no furniture. I slept next to my mother, and when I woke up in the darkness, I could barely see her silhouette. She was rocking back and forth, back and forth, with her head in her hands. I just hate camping, she said.

#7

I decided not to remove Yogi’s horns when he was a baby, because I felt the process was cruel. I kept him in a broad, fenced-in pasture so that he could see and enjoy our visitors, but at a safe distance.

#8

The farm also had a pair of alpaca friends named Yogi and Cooper, who were inseparable until Yogi scraped off the tennis balls that were attached to his horns. The volunteers had to find a solution to keep Yogi from hurting Coop or another animal or person.

#9

My parents, Anne McNulty and Richard Zaleski, grew up in Port Richmond, a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia. They fell in love and planned a future without bothering to get to know each other.

#10

The Zaleskis were a typical fifties-era couple, except that my parents were already married and had three children by the time they were in their twenties. They moved from Philadelphia to Turnersville, New Jersey, because it had good schools, and they were happy there for a time.

#11

My father, who was a charmer, had a thing for blondes. He was always trying to get my mother to go out with him, but she was content to stay home with her children.

#12

My mother was a highly respected piano teacher who volunteered at charity events and raised money for the poor. She didn’t go in for jewelry, but she was thrilled when my father gave her a mink stole.

#13

The Zaleskis were a happy family, but behind closed doors, the happy-family veneer was already starting to fracture. Dad had been seen out with college girls, and Mom didn’t believe the rumors.