Reviews: The Sitting Swing
Publishers Weekly
Named for a childhood swing the author remembers as being impossible to get moving
because of the rose bushes directly behind it, Watson's memoir recounts her fearful, highly
sheltered years growing up an only child to Ukrainian immigrants in 1940s Alberta, Canada.
This is an earnest memoir, well structured. Read complete review.
Peggy Talley, Story Circle Network
www.storycircle.org
By the time I finished reading The Sitting Swing, I had developed great admiration for Irene
Watson's strength and endurance as a child and as a woman. In this book, she tells both
the story of her childhood and her journey through twenty-four days of hell at an addiction
treatment center. There she learned that alcohol and drugs are not the only addictions that
can keep us from enjoying life in the present because of hurt from the past.
Watson has written a book that encourages us to look within ourselves, as she did, to
understand how our lives are affected by the way our mothers were raised. To look at the
cultures they came from, and at the mothers who raised them if at all possible. If this has
adversely affected our lives, as it did hers, she encourages us to get help and find ways to
change the way we think about our childhood before we unwittingly set our children on the
same path.
The Sitting Swing held my interest from beginning to end and left me wishing Watson would
write a sequel. I would like to follow up and see how she used her newfound peace and
knowledge.
Robert H. Goss, Round Table Reviews
Www.roundtableviews.com
The Sitting Swing tells a story of a young girl of Ukrainian heritage whole mother is
domineering and whose father seems to have no feelings for his daughter.
Irene Watson tells a compelling story of her childhood, her failure to understand the death
of her infant brother before she was born, her courtship and marriage, and of a twenty
eight day stint in a therapeutic treatment facility to finally rid herself of her demons. Her
description of life on the Canadian prairies and the rigors of winter stir visions of a harsh life.
While reading The Sitting Swing, one will recognize scenes from their own childhood. A word
to the wise — this is not a quick read but is worth the time spent.
Norm Goldman, Book Pleasures
www.bookpleasures.com
Exploring the cause and effect of addictions is a tricky proposition, as it is a term that is
often tossed around in such a manner that most of us assume we clearly understand it.
However, after reading Irene Watson’s The Sitting Swing, you realize that it can connote
much more than dependence on drugs or alcohol. It can likewise mean a form of behavior
where you are constantly trying to please others. According to Watson, whom I
interviewed, she indicated that ten or so years ago this addiction was coined as co-
dependency, however more recently the National Mental Health Association is terming it as
“relationship addiction.” It is a learned behavior that is often passed down through the
generations by watching other family members display the behavior.
Watson is an intelligent and observant narrator and readers will be pulled in by her astute
understanding of the nature of addiction, that at times are filled with many psychological
complexities. The result is a moving narrative providing the readers with a superb snapshot
of one woman's quest to free herself from self-defeating repetitive patterns and
dependencies. The author succeeds in explaining and articulating the “big questions”
pertaining to “relationship addiction,” and thereby gives her readers a firm foundation for
further study and analysis. Read complete review. Read interview.
Rebecca Brown, Rebecca’s Reads
www.rebeccasreads.com
A simply told passionate telling of one person's wrestle with reality, and the consequences
of her behavior patterns, it rang all my bells. I love a good internal adventure, complete
with a life-changing “Aha!” and, by the way, The Sitting Swing would never have been
written had the author not had that “Aha!” Read complete review.
Shaila Abdullah, author of Beyond the Cayenne Wall
Www.shailaabdullah.com
A poignant, thought-provoking, and moving tale of a little girl's journey to adulthood, living
in a house where she was at once vulnerable and smothered and later largely ignored. The
memoir is an inner reflection of the author as she struggles to understand the events in her
life and her own reactions to them. The book relates of heart wrenching moment when
even in the face of danger, the author was not helped by the woman whose very role was
to protect her and keep her from harm's way. It's about both letting go and going on in life.
The book is cleverly marked with light hearted instances that help keep readers riveted,
such as the author as a girl trying to cough up a child, since that's how she was told babies
are born. An interesting memoir, that will keep you interested throughout. The author has a
clear,
easy flowing style that's almost conversational and allows readers to connect almost from
the start.
Mary Lynn Szymandera, LCAS
Pavillon International
A Center for Self-Discovery and Treatment of Addictions
As a teacher of transformational principles at Pavillon International, reading The Sitting
Swing inspired me to a richer new voice and helped me infuse my lectures with a deeper
level of meaning. Irene’s personal story of transformation in The Sitting Swing will add to
the experience, strength, and hope that we give our clients and to anyone who is on path
of personal transformation.
Tami Brady, TCM Reviews
www.tcm-ca.com
I enjoyed this book for two main reasons. I respected the author’s openness and
willingness to share her entire story, not just the parts of her experience that might make
her look healthy and put together. I believe this aspect of the book will help many people
realize that they are not alone in their pain, confusion, and stubbornness.
The second aspect of the book that I really liked was that the book did not really focus on
the particulars of the author’s addiction. Instead, the story looked at addiction as an
underlying behavior that manifests as habitual patterns. One of the characters in this book
even notes that we all create unhealthy patterns that we habitually follow believing that
we can hide from our pain but that the only true way to release this pain is to feel it.
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