Mother and Son: A Memoir

Sledge, an editor of environmental and scientific documents, recalls his Texas childhood in this sensitive account. The middle child of five, Sledge was deeply affected when his father left their Houston home to marry another woman. As did his loving and creative mother, he kept looking for a replacement for his father in the suitors who pursued her. She made an unfortunate remarriage and had another child with a man who made his stepchildren miserable by imposing rigid rules on their heretofore unregulated lives. After their divorce, Sledge became his mother's companion, assisting her with home-buying and -remodeling projects and helping her rear his younger siblings. Following the loss of a brother to leukemia, Sledge abandoned his plans to marry and came out as a gay man. Although his mother has not yet fully accepted his identity, the author remains hopeful she will eventually be happy for him. (Sept.)