Rachel Beanland talks about her Grandmother's sister practicing to swim the English Channel in Atlantic City which was the impedance for writing this book. This book seems to hit very close to home and is one of those times when I wish my mother was here to discuss and remind me of our family stories.
My mother and her siblings grew up in Atlantic City in the 1930s to 40s. She lived there with her mother and a number of aunts and other relatives. As a child we would travel south to visit an aunt who had stayed in Atlantic City and actually lived in an apartment building next door to the famous Knife and Fork restaurant. We would walk along the Boardwalk, visiting Mr Peanut, Nathans and James Salt Water Taffy stores as regular stops. Of course there was also the Steel Pier and other attractions that are also apart of the memories.
This book spends its time following the characters to all these wonderful memories and to the beach. It shows the history of segregation, of hotels that did not like the Jews and the separation of the the classes, wealthy and not separated by neighborhoods and towns. The medical practices and ignorance of childbirth and also the religious and personal practices that may have led to family strife . The frustration that feeling you should not talk about subjects within a family created divides and unhappiness that could have been avoided.
But the most fun part was finding out that young people in Atlantic City spoke ARP. It was always fascinating to me when my mother and sister spoke ARP, a secret language like Pig Latin, between themselves so that the kids would not understand what they were talking about. I did not realize that maybe it was an Atlantic City thing!
A wonderful story that will really make you think and rethink the secrets you keep from your family.
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