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Reviewed by Lela Buchanan for Readers' Favorite
"Blame it on Anna" is a comprehensive look at a life controlled by others both physically and emotionally. None of us gets to choose our parents or the culture we are born into, but some of us find ourselves inhabiting an undesirable home environment. That is Clarice's unfortunate situation. Her grandparents, Jewish immigrants from Russia, force her mother into an arranged marriage with a man she hates. The home atmosphere is rife with constant fighting and overt hostility. Inevitably, a "great tragedy" occurs and Clarice, her sister Shirley, and her brother Artie are placed in an orphanage where they will live for many years. Because Clarice is naturally timid, she learns to survive the plethora of challenges by building her own little dream world and creating a wall around herself so that nothing could hurt her, a coping mechanism that would serve her well over the course of her life's journey.
In "Blame it on Anna" the reader is drawn into a world of heartache where personal freedom is limited and poor choices often bring devastating results. You feel the helplessness and despair of this family as they struggle to overcome the hardships and obstacles on the path they must walk. It is filled with many period details, and you watch the family grow and change alongside our country, especially the women, as they pursue education, jobs outside of the home and even learning to drive a car. But, the most critical and rewarding facet of this memoir demonstrates how the fragile human spirit fought to survive in the midst of tremendous adversity, and won. You will be fascinated by this story of emotional survival.
