I talked a little bit about how I’m trying to actively support other indie authors in a recent post, The Tapering. Well, it seems synchronicity, or the universe, or whatever higher power dictates these things heard me loud and clear. I found out through a mutual friend yesterday that someone we grew up with in on the east side of Columbus is also an author. It seems he’s quite prolific and I had no clue we had writing in common.
Willam (Bill) Gaumer was younger than my friends and I but he was close friends with my younger brother Curt.
After perusing his titles on Amazon one in particular caught my eye—it’s called Eastmoor: A Memoir.
I purchased the Kindle version of Eastmoor: A Memoir this morning and started reading it during breakfast and it was like traveling back in time. I’m a few chapters into the book and William paints a very accurate picture of what it was like surviving that neighborhood and that high school in particular during the peak of the chaotic and violent crack cocaine epidemic of the mid-to-late 1980s.
Surviving the gang-ridden east side of Columbus in that timeframe was truly what most days felt like. Believe me when I tell you, we didn’t have the typical high school experience. At that tumultuous moment in time Eastmoor had more in common with a prison than it did a school. These were wild times and most people wouldn’t believe some of the things we had to live through.
Reading this memoir is bringing it all back for me. Getting jumped, robbed, intimidated, learning how to defend ourselves, and mastering all of the psychological tricks we could to either blend in or be accepted. Cutting school as often as we could was an easy way to escape the violence.
William makes it very clear in this memoir that he doesn’t want people to view him as a victim. None of us did (or do) but it’s very important that he told this story. Eastmoor was a lot like bootcamp. If it didn't break you it gave you skills that would become extremely useful later in life.
Was it worth it? For me, the answer to that question depends upon the day.
I imagine the process of writing it all down was probably very cathartic for him. After revisiting Willam’s memories it makes me want to record some of my own from this timeframe, if not to publish in book form maybe just to pass on. Perhaps I’ll write a series of blogs about those days and post them here.
Would this be something you'd be interested in reading about?
Nevertheless, I'm thrilled when I see one of the kids we grew up with not only make it out of that neighborhood but find a way to thrive and build a good life. That really warms my heart because I know all the things they were up against and how those things kept trying to pull us down into the darkness of the abyss. Quite a few of our friends were never lucky enough to find a way out.
If you want a very accurate picture of how I grew up I urge you to pick up a copy of Eastmoor: A Memoir for yourself, it's only $.99.
All for now. Make this a wonderful day.
Hi Eric,
Your post reminded me of the tough neighbbourhood I grew up in and the various ways we all learned to cope with it. I spent a lot of energy reflecting on those younger and vulnerable years with little to show for it. For me, it didn't work--I can't come to the light by dwelling on and studying the darkness. Others may find it profitable in some ways and perhaps insightful but for me, it's a dead end street. It reminds me of reading Cabbagetown by Hugh Garner and his conclusion - you don't eulogize a slum. But as I said, that's my psyche and perhaps my limitation but I keep pressing onward and have made up my mind to not dwell on backward glances.
You had to live through it once. That was hard enough, apparently. If you can put it aside--that's great.
In my family we seem to be haunted by our experience as children. Each of us in our own way, tried to put it aside. Five of us did that with mixed success. For me, writing about it, even drawing pictures of scenes I remember, that was one way to gain control of the memories.
Hey brother, your review of the childhood memories is wonderful! I really enjoyed reading it
Kudos to you for supporting an Indie author :)