The Territory of Men
A Memoir
Joelle Fraser
- Born
- into
- the
- turmoil
- of
- mid-sixties
- San
- Francisco,
- the
- daughter
- of
- a
- flower
- child
- and
- a
- surfer,
- Joelle
- Fraser
- grew
- up
- with
- no
- bedtime,
- no
- boundaries,
- and
- no
- father.
- But
- “dads”
- she
- had
- in
- abundance,
- as
- her
- mother
- worked
- her
- way
- through
- boyfriends
- and
- husbands,
- caught
- between
- the
- traditional
- rules
- of
- her
- upbringing
- and
- the
- new
- freedoms
- of
- the
- “me
- generation”
- and
- women’s
- lib.
- Moving
- every
- few
- months,
- from
- houseboats
- and
- beach
- shacks
- to
- run-down
- apartments,
- Joelle
- came
- to
- learn
- that
- a
- woman’s
- life,
- free
- or
- not,
- is
- played
- out
- on
- men’s
- territory.Set
- in
- northern
- California,
- Hawaii,
- and
- the
- small
- coastal
- towns
- of
- Oregon,
- Fraser’s
- engrossing
- memoir
- captures
- this
- centerless
- childhood
- in
- wonderfully
- vivid,
- frank
- writing,
- then
- goes
- on
- to
- show
- how
- a
- legacy
- like
- this
- affects
- a
- girl
- as
- she
- grows
- up.
- Pretty,
- blond,
- precociously
- aware
- of
- her
- own
- sexuality,
- Joelle
- was
- drawn
- to
- men
- early,
- eager
- to
- unlock
- their
- mysteries.
- Working
- in
- bars,
- prisons,
- and
- firing
- ranges,
- she
- liked
- to
- hang
- out
- where
- they
- congregated.
- To
- her
- the
- only
- worlds
- that
- counted
- were
- men’s
- worlds.
- Men
- held
- the
- power;
- they
- made
- life
- matter.Fraser’s
- sharp
- vignettes
- of
- her
- intense
- relationships,
- brief,
- turbulent
- marriage,
- and
- itinerant
- life
- are
- haunting
- echoes
- of
- her
- early
- memories.
- In
- The
- Territory
- of
- Men,
- she
- brilliantly
- portrays
- the
- way
- a
- rootless
- childhood
- leads
- to
- a
- restless
- adulthood,
- and
- how
- a
- mother’s
- aimless
- life
- serves
- as
- a
- blueprint
- for
- her daughter.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
