A small group of Groton Neighbors members met on Sunday, March 8th, at the home of Groton Neighbor member Susan Shay. Groton Neighbor member and former Lawrence Academy faculty member, David Smith, facilitated the discussion of Body Falling Backward, a memoir written by UMass Lowell Creative Writing teacher Maureen Stanton.
The novel details Stanton’s adolescent years growing up in the 70’s in the middle of an angel dust drug epidemic, in the shadow of Walpole State Prison. The memoir reflects a snapshot in time of one particularly turbulent period, and
reflects the author’s struggles with alienation – from her family, from authority in general, and ultimately from herself.
Our group had a lively discussion, recounting where our lives were in the 1970’s and sharing stories of our own hometowns. Member Sally Russell also grew up in Walpole, MA and shared how different her own experience had been. David Smith did an excellent job of taking the group back in time to that very unsettled decade with all of its cultural shifts.
The photos include the Groton Neighbors present for the discussion (absent the photographer).