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Sweet Dreams: A Family History
A masterful memoir of a young boy's passage from childhood to adulthood in a family of privilege torn by dark secrets: alcoholism, mental illness, dysfunction. As a complicated coming of age story, Sweet Dreams charts the journey of DeWitt Henry, well-known author, editor, publisher and educator, in his earliest struggles to find and achieve his own creative destiny. It is what Richard Hoffman calls "...a remarkable feat of memory delivered in extraordinary prose."
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 20, 2015
I'm not well versed in the memoir department and this is just my 2nd. I must admit that at 1st it was a little difficult to embrace. I was too in novella/fiction mode and was waiting for some plot twist. Midway, I decided to stop clenching my teeth and just relax and read it for the unfolding of the story with 0 expectations. What I learned was that complexity amongst family dynamic is the same in all families. Dewitt Henry, the author of this book didn't hold back his point of view and his detailed memories are phenomenal. He is able to transport the reader back to an age of civil rights struggles, of draft dogging, and free love. He talks of his siblings and their struggles with the PTSD acquired by the constant womanizing of their alcoholic father and by their rock solid mother. I felt Dee's devastation at the loss of his mother and the deep love he has/had for those in his immediate circle. There is so much about life that one has to experience to ponder the question, What is the meaning of life? yet in many cases we are cut short of a meaningful answer. In his memoir, Dewitt allows his readers to see a reflection of his life and the decisions that lead him to become the writer of present day. I found myself in his world although I don't know that i'll ever be able to relate- but it's a world I have read about many times- A world of privilege- one of opportunity, one of loss, and race relations and complications. I admire a person who allows the public to have a small glimpse at something so personal as is one's life. Thank you Mr. Dewitt for sharing a tiny fraction of your life. I must say that out of everything you shared, I was most saddened by was the loss of John. With today's science, he would still be alive and well - more likely.
January 6, 2019
Sweet Dreams is an engaging and beautifully-written story of a writer moving through the many different stages of life. Through vivid detail and exquisite prose, Henry gives us a memoir that is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. This is a wonderful self-reflection of an artist.
December 4, 2014
Dewitt Henry, in his Memoir SWEET DREAMS a family history, depicts his family in a way that makes me care about, want to get to know, and find out what happens to them. Especially in his complex and often problematic father, patriarch who runs the family chocolate factory, whose status in the family rises and falls as he struggles with alcohol, and finally attains his rightful place, I find a full, powerful, and often appealing character. Henry's focus on his father's development throughout the memoir is central, emotionally, and reflects the author's masterful construction of his work. In fact, the attendant dynamic between Henry's father and mother, and their children, gets developed so well throughout the memoir. I was especially touched by the author's mother's talents as an artist struggling to emerge from her early 50's homemaker's role. I also latched onto the section in the book where Henry, as baby brother, bestows his admiration upon his two older brothers, Jack and Chuck. Seen from that perspective, the brothers' lives take on mythic qualities through the younger brother's eyes as they both journey toward adulthood. While Jack becomes a master craftsman with his high level of exactitude, and his precise understanding of antique auto engines and vintage forearms; Chuck has the qualities of the golden boy -- talent, intellect, and playboy tendencies, which get in the way for a time of his desire to become a skilled surgeon.
Later in the memoir, I avidly read of the author's days in the Boston and Cambridge literary scene, and his role as one of the founders of the literary journal, PLOUGHSHARES. It was a few short years after that that I became acquainted personally with the Cambridge literary world of writers such as Robert Lowell during my own college years. One delightful early episode in the book which surely won't hurt to give away had to do with the family's chocolate factory. When a special line of mint patty came out, the two older boys went around their Pennsylvania town leaving crumpled up mint patty wrappers strewn about the streets to attract interest in the product. I thought it was a fine touch the way author Dewitt Henry set things up for family appetites -- sweets, of course, and alcohol, with the father, and the possibility for overindulgence in both.
--Paul Corrigan
Later in the memoir, I avidly read of the author's days in the Boston and Cambridge literary scene, and his role as one of the founders of the literary journal, PLOUGHSHARES. It was a few short years after that that I became acquainted personally with the Cambridge literary world of writers such as Robert Lowell during my own college years. One delightful early episode in the book which surely won't hurt to give away had to do with the family's chocolate factory. When a special line of mint patty came out, the two older boys went around their Pennsylvania town leaving crumpled up mint patty wrappers strewn about the streets to attract interest in the product. I thought it was a fine touch the way author Dewitt Henry set things up for family appetites -- sweets, of course, and alcohol, with the father, and the possibility for overindulgence in both.
--Paul Corrigan
February 4, 2014
Well, the memories are there but they came in a jumble. It wasn't well written. Some sentences didn't make sense, like: "Aunty Pink I recall resenting as an interloper, who slept in mom and dad's room and consumed all the chocolates that Jack could bring from the factory."
I cringed at his mistreatment of a beloved dog. Not nice.
However, I stuck with it. It did remind me of Portrait of an Artist as others noted. Towards the end, it held my interest when he lived in Cambridge, MA in the 70s and I recognized the places and streets that he mentioned.
I cringed at his mistreatment of a beloved dog. Not nice.
However, I stuck with it. It did remind me of Portrait of an Artist as others noted. Towards the end, it held my interest when he lived in Cambridge, MA in the 70s and I recognized the places and streets that he mentioned.
June 21, 2011
Excellent read. Like peeking through a window at the family's various homes. It's an endearing tale of a family life becoming more and more rare as they years go by. DeWitt is a wonderful writer and the story is truly compelling. Once you complete it, you'll want to read his Safe Suicide, if you haven't already.
January 18, 2011
My review for this book will be available on Saturday at NY Journal of Books.
Review is posted here http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/revie...
Review is posted here http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/revie...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews