Guest Post by Teri Coyne, Author of The Last Bridge

Today I have the honor of welcoming Teri Coyne to Jo-Jo Loves to Read!!!  The Last Bridge was one of the most powerful books that I read this summer that dealt with domestic abuse and alcoholism.  If you missed my review you can still read it here.

Here is what Teri wants to share with us today:

As a debut author of a novel dealing with abuse, addiction and domestic violence, it is hard for people to believe I used to do stand-up comedy but if you met me (which I hope you will someday in a bookstore or at a library!) you would probably understand how that is possible.  

I guess the best place to start is to explain that although I am not a survivor of abuse, I did grow up around domestic violence and alcoholism so I have a firsthand knowledge of the emotional toll it takes on families and individuals, including myself.  While each of us has our own ways of coping and processing the events of our lives, mine was to use humor.  I guess you could say I have a dark sense of humor, not as dark as Cat’s but pretty close. 

As a child I learned that the easiest way to be honest was to be funny, so I expressed my deepest feelings through humor.  I lived the expression, “the truest things are said in jest” and I believe it is what has gotten me through the toughest times of my life.

Performing stand-up comedy grew out of my experiences as an actor and a love of the performing arts.  It combined the best of all worlds for me, I was able to tell stories and perform for an audience. Imagine being able to reveal your truest feelings to a room full of people and make them laugh?  It was like having my cake and eating it too!  Through humor I was able to talk about my scary, intense, charismatic father and not only would people respond, they would relate.   People often came up to me after shows to tell me about their experiences and to share their stories with me.    Instead of being put off by it, I was intrigued and inspired.   

I started writing THE LAST BRIDGE after I had a vision in my head of the opening scene and a woman’s voice saying the opening line, “Two days after my father had a massive stroke my mother shot herself in the head.” The woman who began speaking to me was Cat and the story was an intense and emotionally charged journey of discovery that asks the question, “Are we a product of our experiences or of our choices?” Cat has her challenges and is running from severe trauma, but she is also a vibrant and funny woman struggling to find meaning in a life that has almost destroyed her.  She is an extreme version of all of us at different times.

Over time, my passion for the truth evolved from doing stand-up to writing fiction.   It was in the form of the novel I found my greatest challenge and satisfaction, as my need to speak the truth was no longer just about me standing on stage talking about my life, it was to give voice to the experiences and feelings of other people, to show that although the world is filled with a lot of darkness and pain, humor, love and compassion is the light the leads us through it. 

Since THE LAST BRIDGE has been published I have received many emails from readers who have graced me with their stories, some have survived situations worse than what Cat has endured and many have said their life was similar to Cat’s, still others write to say they could relate to her feelings, or felt grateful for their own lives.   Each of the emails reminds me of how important it is to share our stories with each other and to listen.  Humor is a way of lightening the load, and for me, there is no greater triumph over pain than laughter.   

That’s my story, what is yours?  I would love to hear your comments about humor and how or if it has played an important role in your life, and as a reader do you like stories that are funny or characters that have a humorous perspective?

Thanks for stopping by today Teri and sharing with us your experience with domestic abuse. October is Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, so I think it is very important for all of us to recognize what a problem this has become in our country.  So many victims are out there right now that are afraid to reach out for help and we need to let them know that we are there for them when they are ready to take that step.  The Last Bridge stresses the importance of seeking help even after the abuse is over.  Because the abuse will continue on in your mind until it is dealt with in a healthy manner. Thanks again for stopping by today Teri, and I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors!

Review: The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne

Here is a summary of The Last Bridge from the Random House, Inc. website:

For ten years, Alexandra “Cat” Rucker has been on the run from her past. With an endless supply of bourbon and a series of meaningless jobs, Cat is struggling to forget her Ohio hometown and the rural farmhouse she once called home. But a sudden call from an old neighbor forces Cat to return to the home and family she never intended to see again. It seems that Cat’s mother is dead.

What Cat finds at the old farmhouse is disturbing and confusing: a suicide note, written on lilac stationery and neatly sealed in a ziplock bag, that reads: Cat, He isn’t who you think he is. Mom xxxooo

One note, ten words–one for every year she has been gone–completely turns Cat’s world upside down. Seeking to unravel the mystery of her mother’s death, Cat must confront her past to discover who “he” might be: her tyrannical, abusive father, now in a coma after suffering a stroke? Her brother, Jared, named after her mother’s true love (who is also her father’s best friend)? The town coroner, Andrew Reilly, who seems to have known Cat’s mother long before she landed on a slab in his morgue? Or Addison Watkins, Cat’s first and only love?

The closer Cat gets to the truth, the harder it is for her to repress the memory and the impact of the events that sent her away so many years ago.

Taut, gripping, and edgy, The Last Bridge is an intense novel of family secrets, darkest impulses, and deep-seated love. Teri Coyne has created a stunning tapestry of pain and passion where past and present are seamlessly interwoven to tell a story that sears and warms in equal measure.

My Review:

This was a very powerful book that really dealt with what the negative effects of abuse can be when the victim just keeps trying to run away from the reality of what happened. Although this was a difficult story to read at times, I found that I couldn't put this book down. I devoured the pages in just a couple of sittings, which is a very rare occurrence for me. I was mesmerized from the first line of the book that began like this on page 3:
Two days after my father had a massive stroke my mother shot herself in the head.

So the story begins with Cat returning to the family home after her mother's death. Cat hates to be in her hometown, let alone the family home where she was the recipient of extensive physical abusive from her father, that the only way she can manage to stay there is by drinking herself into oblivion. She would drink until all emotional feelings were dead to her.

This is one of those stories that the author decides to give us snippets of Cat's life by changing the timeline from past to present throughout the book. This method of writing definitely enhanced this story. I won't go into the details of the abuse but it did escalate violently throughout the novel. When Cat did try to tell an authoritive figure what was happening to her, she just received a worse punishment when she got home.

Although her father was abusive to her mother, Cat seemed to be the recipient of most of his violent outbursts. I guess because everyone in her life seemed to ignore what happened to her as a child, she thought it would be ok to just not deal with it herself. This is how Cat let alcoholism take over her entire life. This was very realistic to me as I watched Cat deal with her raw emotions in this way.

When Cat is reunited with her brother and sister she thinks that they have it all together. Little does she know that they are both dealing with their own demons, some from current events, and some from the guilt of not helping Cat all those years ago when they had the chance. I loved how this story ends because it wasn't picture perfect. Cat finds that it is a daily struggle to keep her alcoholism under control, but she has found a reason to try to make it work.

This is probably one of my favorite books that I have read this summer and I want to give a special Thank You to Kaitlin from Random House for providing me with this review copy. I know that some of you are very sensitive when it comes to reading about child abuse, so this may not be the right book for you. As difficult as the journey of this book was, I thought it was very well written. This is Teri Coyne's first novel and I find it fascinating that she is also a stand up comedian! You can check out her website here.

My Rating: 4/5

You can view another insightful review of The Last Bridge over at Books and Cooks.