Why My Mother Went Away by Alan Kennedy
| Why My Mother Went Away by Alan Kennedy | |
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| Category: Autobiography | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: The exquisitely-written story of how a boy from the Midlands became a founder of the psychology department at Dundee University. The evocation of time and place is a joy to read, and I'm looking forward to the next instalment. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 235 | Date: December 2025 |
| Publisher: Lasserrade Press | |
| ISBN: | |
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I have often wondered how prominent people came to hold their positions. With 'celebrities', there's frequently a book that they might or might not have written, which might or might not tell the true story. It's not often that you find a book that gives the full backstory, and rarely do you discover a memoir where the telling is so perfect that you'll go back and reread paragraphs and sentences, just for the pleasure they give. Why My Mother Went Away is one of those rare exceptions. It's the story of how a boy from the Midlands, born at the beginning of the Second World War, would become a Professor of Psychology at Dundee University. In fact, he was one of the founders of the department.
One of Professor Kennedy's earliest memories is being crammed into his pram with his younger brother, Ian. His own hat had been snatched from his head to protect Ian from the sun. The resentment is unspoken. Alan's mother had wanted a daughter, but she would never be lucky in that respect. Her health was always suspect, and, unusually for the time, she was a working mother. When Alan was about eight, his mother was diagnosed as epileptic, a mental problem described by the doctor as a random affliction of the mind. I am in awe of all that she achieved, particularly given the problems she had to overcome. She was also diagnosed with 'melancholia' - it would probably be 'depression' now - and some of the treatments she had to endure can only be described as barbaric.
The time and place are captured perfectly. There was a need not to be seen as poor. Despite being a 'working' man, Alan's father wore a trilby hat. The fireplace in the living room had ovens at its side, but the Kennedy family used the kitchen, despite the inconvenience. Poor people cooked in the living room. Financial matters became more pressing at the end of the war when Alan's father lost his job:
Since Oldbury was no longer to be bombed, a grateful nation had released him from the hair-raising risks of his job and rendered him unemployed.
Kennedy's own health was also suspect, but he was always an achiever, and it was this that took him to University. He'd studied sciences for A-level but wanted to read English Literature at university. Unfortunately, this would require a qualification in a foreign language, but a workaround was found. He could read English Literature if he also took a course in Italian as well as Psychology, which was then something of a new-fangled subject. And so an accidental psychologist was born.
I had a personal reason for finding this book so engrossing. The author and I were born at opposite ends of the war, but in its aftermath, we lived through many of the same things. I'm particularly grateful for being reminded of the Victorian china inkwells in school and the 'fishtail flourish' when dancing the quickstep. I had not thought about either in far too long.
I'd like to thank the author for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
You might like to try some of Alan Kennedy's fiction: The Things That are Lost is a fabulous read.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Why My Mother Went Away by Alan Kennedy at Amazon.com. (Paid link)
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