Growing Up, by Russell Baker
352 pages, Signet. $7.99
Reviewed By Stephanie Attebery
Growing Up seems like a natural read right now, as our country goes through an economic downturn unseen since the author’s own experience during the Great Depression. Baker’s life began in rural Virginia and continued on, after the death of his father, in Northern New Jersey and eventually Baltimore. While this is Baker’s memoir, he is very much concerned with peering through the eyes of his own ailing mother, a strong and stern woman, and the most influential figure in his childhood.
My heart breaks as Baker reprints the romantic correspondence between his mother and a job-seeking immigrant baker named Oluf. The long-distance romance starts off optimistically but is bluntly crushed by the overpowering financial despair of the suitor, as it becomes clear that he will never make it back to her.
Baker also shares his own early career experiences as a Newspaper seller on the streets of Baltimore, earning money for himself and the extended household. At the end of his story, Baker is being pulled out of the depression by successes in journalism and love. He meets the love of his life Mimi and becomes a staff writer for the Baltimore Sun. He seems in awe of his success, often, seeing his growing career as more a matter of chance and luck than of his own “gumption”, a trait that his mother, frequently points out he is lacking.
Growing Up is not only Baker’s family story, but an intimate glimpse into what it was like for countless American families during that difficult time, when children were “given up” to be raised by more fortunate relatives (like Baker’s own young sister). And ambitions were wittled down to the barest of necessities. (sounding familiar?)
Many of the book’s rich characters were Baker’s uncles and aunts, who took the burden of sheltering less fortunate family members, or were themselves the unfortunate ones. There is his shady “entrepeneur” Uncle Hal and sassy Aunt Pat. Baker honors and credits his Uncle Charlie, the teller of tall–tales, who inspired him early on to tell his own stories. Baker describes his memories of his young mother and her brothers and sisters-in-law talking late into the night while he laid in bed a floor above, listening to the endless pots of coffee being brewed. This memory to me reveals the essence of the book. It is ultimately the tale of how the warmth of family allows hope to survive through the toughest of times. I look forward to checking out the books sequel, The Good Times.
Get your copy of Growing Up here.