London From My Windows
By: Mary Carter
Rating: 4.5 of 5
“London From My Windows” is the story of a young woman, Ava, who suffers from acute agoraphobia. It starts when, as a ten year old, her father trips and falls to the ground and dies. She feels guilty for not having saved him and pulls away and hides from the world as she lets the sadness and the fear consume her.
We fast forward almost twenty years and she has almost completely encapsulated herself from the outside world. She knows a few people, her mother, her therapist Diana, and her policeman boyfriend Cliff. She has a job as a police sketch artist but works only from her home. To the extent possible, she has pushed away the rest of the world. Going outside brings on horrific panic attacks. She is forced to the police station to do a sketch and her world melts down.
At the same time, her estranged paternal Aunt Beverly has passed away, leaving her West End flat to Ava with some stipulations. In a hurry to leave the meltdown of her life behind and not knowing the extent of the stipulations, Ava leaves for London. Of course, she finds that even in London, her problems are still her problems. Once she knows the full extent of what her aunt has required of her, she has to face her fears and learn how to live with the outside world again.
The book covers a very serious illness and it deals with it in a very serious way. Still, the author has found a lot of humor to be had in the midst of the darkness. Having the protagonist wearing a black garbage bag over her head brings out laughs even as you feel tremendously sorry for her. I had a good laugh when the meaning of Septics was explained (not the most complimentary of comments about Americans.) There is a good bit of humor back and forth about Americans and Brits – which has been my experience with working with and visiting my British friends.
The characters are interesting and have been made real by the author. Queenie, the aging drag queen, is Ava’s flatmate and archenemy (well, not really but they are competing for the flat), Jasper, the strong but funny barrister, that Ava thinks about a little too often, and even Hillary, the scarey ex-girlfriend of Jasper and conniving niece of Queenie.
I really enjoyed reading the book. When I was a teenager, I was on the path to agoraphobia, and recall being afraid of leaving the house and meeting new people. For some reason, a move to another city for my mother’s work brought me out of the shadows and fears and I was able to finish school and get on with life. I’ve never forgotten how it felt to look outside and think, maybe tomorrow but certainly not today. I’ve never stopped being grateful that I was not engulfed by that fear as others have been. I was lucky and not stronger or braver – just luckier.
This is an interesting and entertaining read. It will remind some of us (like me) of our own fears and will introduce others to the concept of hidden disabilities. I recommend it for adults and young adults who are able to deal with the subject of this type of illness.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher.
“London From My Windows” is the story of a young woman, Ava, who suffers from acute agoraphobia. It starts when, as a ten year old, her father trips and falls to the ground and dies. She feels guilty for not having saved him and pulls away and hides from the world as she lets the sadness and the fear consume her.