So Long As There Are Plums to Eat

Memoirs and autobiographies still tend to be my favorite genre of literature. I have always believed there is something wonderful about the frankness with which they are told. Mary Karr's Cherry has been lying on my "to read" bookshelf for seven years. I saw it last week and pulled it down since I knew it would be a quick read. The memoir fits into what we describe in literature as bildungsroman. It is the story of an adolescent girl who moves from elementary to middle school to high school in her small town in Texas. On her journey, she learns much about herself.

On the way to adulthood, at one point Mary becomes distraught because she no longer has the interest of the boy she has admired since childhood, her best friend has rejected her friendship, her family is quite dysfunctional, and other peers believe she thinks she is smarter than they. Mary responds to the situation taking pills by the handful. Ironically, they only make her sick, and her parents believe her to be suffering from an intestinal illness. Her father drives from Texas to Arkansas to buy her sweet plums because Mary says that is the only food she could possibly eat. When she tastes the plums, their sweetness and juiciness dripping down her chin, she snaps out of her depression. She decides that "so long as there are plums to eat," and someone who cares enough to bring them, she will live.

Obviously, there are many reasons for adolescent suicide attempts like Mary's. In my thirty-five years of teaching, I have had two former students to commit suicide; both were boys. Research tells us that girls tend to be unsuccessful in their attempts and often are just seeking attention from family and friends while boys tend to be the more serious, and therefore successful. The first boy who took his life by hooking up an automobile exhaust line to the car window was like Mary--rejected by peers and adults. The second, a senior in college, was distraught over the impending death of his mother. To an outsider, both seemed to have been greatly loved by their families. What is the impetus then to cause such an action?

Former President Bill Clinton in an interview about his brother Roger's addiction indicated that people tend to become this way because of one of four reasons: they are hungry, tired, lonely, or angry. I believe these are possible reasons also for adolescents who choose to commit suicide, especially the last two. Once again, the need presents itself for responsible adults role models to come forward, recognize the symptoms, and do their best to intervene. Only then can there be more "plums to eat" in the future for these young lives.