Storkbites

A Memoir

By: Marie Etienne

Narrated by: Stacy Kassulke

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

In her memoir entitled Storkbites, Marie Etienne paints a powerful picture of her wealthy Louisiana family - a mother who bounces from sobriety to drunkenness, kindness to vicious cruelty, and an eccentric father who takes bizarre steps to protect his nine children from danger. Storkbites weaves two timelines - one showing a childhood filled with abuse, insanity, and material excess, and the other, the adult trying to make her way in California as a new mom. Murder, suicide, promiscuity, and alcoholism overshadow Mardi Gras balls, Christmas celebrations, and a daughter's bittersweet coming of age. Vivid scenes depict Daddy, nightly, tucking his children into bed, and hours later, Momma waking them for a beating.

After years of heavy drinking, Momma lies dying in ICU, and pull-the-plug battles emerge among the seven surviving daughters. In the midst of a divorce, Marie sees her handprint on her son's back and vows stop the cycle of abuse - both as victim and perpetrator. Filled with hope, Storkbites shows the fierce love between siblings and the determination of one young mother desperate to escape her abusive past.

Biography: Marie Etienne's writing has appeared in numerous publications including the San Francisco Chronicle, Contra Costa Times, and Diablo Magazine. She is a competitive springboard diver, an accountant, a high school dive coach, and an avid reader. Her second memoir, Confessions of a Bi-Polar Mardi Gras Queen, was published in February 2009. She makes jewelry and steel wire baskets adorned with beads and yarn. Born in Louisiana, Marie now lives in Northern California with her two teenage sons.

©2013 Marie Etienne (P)2021 Marie Estorge

Critic reviews

"Marie Etienne's story of growing up rich in Louisiana, one of nine children who are each in some way scarred by the experience, leads readers on a harrowing tale of abuse of nearly every kind: Physical, verbal, alcoholic, drugs, sexual excess - and above all a family legacy of secret insanity. Push/pull, give/take, love/hate, guilt/forgiveness, monetary generosity/emotional stinginess - these kids were jerked this way and that, and none emerged unscathed. Of the nine children, two died of either suicide or murder and the others continue, as adults, to struggle in their own ways with their violent heritage. Etienne describes her own descent into alcoholism and promiscuity as a teenager and young adult, and she is horrified to find herself following her mother's physical abuse tactics with her own two young sons. We travel with Etienne on the path of healing as she sheds her addictions and discovers ways to forge a new future with her children, a future based on love and trust. Imminently readable and inspirational." (Peggy Vincent, author of Baby Catcher)

"A compelling memoir...Etienne's writing is fresh; her epiphany is clear, her ending powerful and satisfying." (San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, August 10, 2003)

"Storkbites is a complicated portrait of a family...The writing is vivid and honest." (Adair Lara, Hold Me Close, Let Me Go, August 15, 2003)