When We Were Ghouls: A Memoir of Ghost Stories (American Lives)

When Amy E. Wallen's southern, blue-collar, peripatetic family was transferred from Ely, Nevada, to Lagos, Nigeria, she hadjust turned seven. From Nevada to Nigeria and on to Peru, Bolivia, and Oklahoma, the family wandered the world, living in a stateof constant upheaval. When We Were Ghoulsfollows Wallen's recollections of her familywho, like ghosts, cameand wentand slipped through her fingers, rendering her memories unclear. Were they a family of grave robbers, as her memory of the pillaging of a pre-Incan grave site indicates? Are they, as the author's mother posits, "hideous people?" Or is Wallen's memory out of focus? In this quick-paced and riveting narrative, Wallen exorcizes these haunted memories to clarify the nature of her family and, by extension, her own character. Plumbing the slipperiness of memory and confrontingwhat it means to be a "good" human, When We Were Ghouls links the fear of loss and mortality to childhood ideas of permanence. It is astory... Number of Words in Auth: 3 Formats : EPUB Number of Formats : 1 Has Cover : Yes All Identifiers : isbn:978-1-4962-0538-4 Single Author : Amy E. Wallen Original Source : Mirc New Files 03 07 Sorted Author by LN, FN: Wallen, Amy E. Title Length : 019 Title Parm D : When We Were Ghouls Title Parm F : When We Were Ghouls Num of Aut : 1 Title Parm B : ( Record ID : 1699 Uncomma Author : Amy E. Wallen Title Parm A : When We Were Ghouls When Amy E. Wallen’s southern, blue-collar, peripatetic family was transferred from Ely, Nevada, to Lagos, Nigeria, she had just turned seven. From Nevada to Nigeria and on to Peru, Bolivia, and Oklahoma, the family wandered the world, living in a state of constant upheaval. When We Were Ghouls follows Wallen’s recollections of her family who, like ghosts, came and went and slipped through her fingers, rendering her memories unclear. Were they a family of grave robbers, as her memory of the pillaging of a pre-Incan grave site indicates? Are they, as the author’s mother posits, “hideous people?” Or is Wallen’s memory out of focus? In this quick-paced and riveting narrative, Wallen exorcizes these haunted memories to clarify the nature of her family and, by extension, her own character. Plumbing the slipperiness of memory and confronting what it means to be a “good” human, When We Were Ghouls links the fear of loss and mortality to childhood ideas of permanence. It is a story about family, surely, but it is also a representation of how a combination of innocence and denial can cause us to neglect our most precious earthly treasures: not just our children but the artifacts of humanity and humanity itself. Plumbing The Slipperiness Of Memory And Confronting What It Means To Be A Good Human, Amy Wallen Links The Fear Of Loss And Mortality To Childhood Ideas Of Permanence As She Grapples With The Fact That Her Parents Were Grave Robbers-- Redneck Arrival -- My Baptism -- Under The Dogonyaro Tree -- Without The Other -- What Won't Rub Off -- From Gypsy To Socialite -- Bees And Bad Men -- Christmas Execution -- Pine-solo -- New Knees -- The Vestibule -- Deer In The Headlights -- Arriving At Midnight -- Seeds Don't Grow In A Hotel -- Buche De Noel -- The Lima Welcome Wagon -- Godzilla, The Witch, And The Wardrobe -- Black Magic And A Guitar Solo -- Phantom Limb -- Christmas Bird -- Our Best Imitation Of Gringos -- The Butcher Gets Bigger -- Taking Flight -- Tabloids And Cigarettes -- Politicians In The Living Room -- The Chicken-wire Menagerie -- What I Do See -- Helter Skelter -- Images On A Paper Soul -- What Remains. Amy E. Wallen. The Essay 'when We Were Ghouls' Was Originally Published In The Gettysburg Review 29, No. 1 (spring 2016).