- Genre:biography & autobiography
- Sub-genre:Personal Memoirs
- Language:English
- Pages:312
- eBook ISBN:9781098328160
- Paperback ISBN:9781098328153
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Book details
Overview
Growing up in mid-century suburban Los Angeles, Kathy McCoy had three major fears: first, that she would grow up to become a suburban housewife as powerless as her mother; second, nuclear annihilation; third, that her father would kill her. The latter wasn't out of the question: her alcoholic, mentally ill father threatened his children's lives on a daily basis. Jim McCoy called his depressions and delusions "crocodiles." He feared they would devour him as they had his mother. He wasn't the only one who feared the invisible crocodiles.
Description
The Crocodiles Will Arrive Later is a memoir of a childhood filled with horror and humor, cruelty and love.
The McCoy family was haunted by what Jim called his “invisible crocodiles”: the depressions and delusions that pursued him as they had his mother before him, leading to alcoholism, drug abuse and a descent into madness. But Jim’s battle with his crocodiles wasn’t relentless --at least in the early days. There were times of love and laughter. And there was hope.
This hope came from a loving aunt, an award winning poet, who sometimes wrote fun poems to help bring light and laugher to her nieces and nephew. (Some of these poems are included in this book.) Hope came from two courageous nun teachers who confronted the darkness and from grandparents who stepped in at two critical junctures to make a major difference. It also came from an unlikely pair of celebrities – Cyril Ritchard and Davy Jones – who at different times inspired and encouraged Kathy to escape the horror and follow her dreams.
“The Crocodiles Will Arrive Later” is not a saga of toxic parenting, but a compassionate exploration of the truths behind the crocodiles and the importance of laughing between the pain as a survival tool. It is also a story of letting go with love on the path to emotional freedom.
