Summary Of Stitches: A Memoir By David Small

In the graphic novel, "Stitches: A Memoir” written by David Small, the author shares his memories, presenting a hostile home environment and the unique characteristics of his family. David’s family was composed of his mother, Betty, a housewife, Ed, the father-doctor, and David’s older brother, Ted. Towards the end of the book the readers are introduced to David’s psychologist, characterized in the book by a rabbit. The memoir is a true statement of David’s life in a house where there was no effective communication, the lack of love from his mother and how it affect his childhood.
David’s illustrations shows an intricate but vivid and painful memory of his childhood. His mother, Betty influenced his life in a way that he could not understand at the time. He did not understand the reasons behind some of her attitudes or the peculiar way that she communicated with him. In the first pages of the book David stated: “Mama had her little cough… once

or twice, some quiet sobbing, out of sight…or the slamming of kitchen cupboard doors. That was her language” (Small 15). “Because she never spoke her mind, we never knew what this was all about” (16). His father when upset instead of talking, went to the basement to punch a bag, and his brother played drums to avoid conversation (17). As a result of this David also had his wordless way to communicate. He learned to express his feelings by being constantly sick, in order to have his mother’s attention and care (18-19). David also drew and created his own little world, where his characters come alive and they are happy (49). He imagine going into his draw paper, diving into it and turning himself into one of his characters, joining them in pure happiness (62-63). That was the way to escape from his unhappy childhood.
David went on a road trip with his mother, where she told him some of the stories of her family and her difficult childhood. Betty told David about her mother’s struggles to take care of her. Betty was born with a heart condition. How difficult it was later on when her father passed away, his father’s family stopped giving money to them and forced David’s grandmother off their property (69-72). David’s mother also grow up in difficult family situation. Betty with her own family was following a pattern that had been defined in her life as a child, which was characterized by lovelessness and carelessness, causing David to feel the lack of love and attention from her.
David’s health was not the most important thing for Betty. Later on when they discovered David’s need for surgery to extract, what at the time was considered a “sebaceous cyst,” she was worried about how much the treatment would cost to them. They postponed the surgery and Betty went to a shopping spree, David’s stated: “Around that time dad must have gotten a promotion or a raise. The lump in my neck had to wait while he took mother on a shopping spree” (137). She had no empathy for David’s situation. David’s lump was taking care three and a half years after the first doctor’s visit. The unexpected outcome of this surgery was not good news. David had cancer. After the surgery Betty went to see him, she cries in his bed, she was caring and compassionate and he could not understand why at the time. Again his mother could not communicate her feelings, left David wondering what was in her mind.
David went back at home. He has discovered his real illness looking through his mother’s desk, he had cancer. David’s mother apparently forgot her desk drawer key on the locker. David read a letter she wrote to his grandmother, and it was talking about his cancer. It was a big impact on David’s mind, he feels empty, his mother one more time ignore him as a son referring to him in the letter as “the boy”, she wrote: “Of course the boy does not know it was cancer” (205). After reading the letter he come to the kitchen and stares at his mother and she stares back, it was no verbal communication between them, only that deep and painful silence. He finally could understand the need of two surgeries. His mother crying and generosity in the Hospital, she thought he was dying. Now she does not care about him anymore, he lived.
David had lost his voice after the surgery. He was tormented by a nightmare about being shrinking down and living inside his mouth, it was scary, he could not stay in bed. David hide under the kitchen table and another nightmare started, he was going through doors that was turning smaller and smaller and when he finally reached a big room, it was a mess, darkness and debris everywhere. That was how David’s life was, a mess. After his parents find him under the table, a family discussion burst and David’s mother was worried about the electricity bill and not worried about why David was sleeping under the table. That night he took one of the family’s car and was charged for driving without license. After this event, he was send to the boarding school, from where he escaped three times. Back in home, after his parents complain about all the money was wasted in his education, he confronted his parents about his cancer, he wished scream louder but all he can do it was whisperer at them. They confirm his cancer. David’s had no right to knowledge about his own life. Frustration, the conversation vanished in the air, like the smoke from his father pipe.
He was fifteen years old when he was refer to have therapy.

Betty drive him to the first appointment, she dropped him off and made a negative comment about it: “It’s like throwing money down a hole, if you ask me” (247). She was again nagging him. David’s psychologist was characterized of a White Rabbit, one of the references he had most of his childhood, he used to daydream about been Alice, from Alice in the Wonderland by Lewis Carrol. The “White Rabbit” analyses him and let David’s know the truth: his mother does not love him. (255) David’s life went upside down and in the next pages the illustrations show a big storm that went for days. The darkness, the sadness, the emptiness, and pain, can be feel at every drop of rain that David had drawn.(259-264) Those feelings finally come to an end and David’s was back to his psychologist three times a week, he was at last healing from the past of mistreating. The White Rabbit helped him to go through his memories and feelings, sorting out and changing his life for the

better.
The secrets surrounding his mother are deep and dark and affect her way to express maternal love. Betty’s forbidden life was discovered by David one day when he was coming back home earlier and after finding out about his mother's secret life as a lesbian. After that he was understand his mother emotions a little better and stated: “After that awkward moment, while my own emotions ricocheted between extremes of betrayal and foolishness, anger and confusion, what stayed with me for the longest time was the look mother gave me, itself full of complex feelings, few of which, I’d guess, had much to do with me” (273).
David’s last visit to his mother was on her deathbed. It was revealing and was like a forgiving time for him, David’s touching his mother's hand and face softly, and she cried, he left. She died that night (307). David’s forgive his mother or at least was free of her damage. After leaving his mother's side, David went to visit the hospital laboratory (309) and revisited one of his memories of a fetus in a jar that terrified him when he was a child (38-41). The “little man” was there, he stared at the jar, he looks at it suspiciously, the fetus look calm, not angry, not scaring and not coming out of the jar to chase after him. The “little man” had found peace after all. David drive back home tranquilly.
One night David had a dream that shows him the insanity of his life, trapped alone in his own house, scared to go out and explore, playing with his controlled car. (315-320). When he finally decided to come out and recover his toy that had run away outside, he could not recognize who was that woman sweeping a path that lead to another building. He could see that was the asylum where his grandma was locked, he sees her in the window and he recognized that was his mother at the entrance door of the asylum sweeping the path for him. She was expecting him to follow the family pattern of sadness and craziness. He did not (321-325). From then on David was ready to live the life he always deserved. His mother was not part of his story anymore. She was locked in that place. The place he never will be. He was free.
In conclusion, those situations lead David to approach his own life in a twisted form. His mother’s careless and loveless ways cause to him lots of damage as a child and teenager. Luckily he had the time and the help he needed to understand that was his mother’s deal in life to be unhappy, not his. His life could had be sad and tragic, but instead turned to be creative, rich and sharing. David’s life story can teach us that no damage cannot be recovered. We need to be responsible for our own life, to be forgiving and not to blame others for failure.