Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of Language and Mind Review of This Is My Best Review of Lost in the Void Crossword (Solution Posted in September. Printable version in pdf format of journal.) May/Jun Crossword Solution Creative Nonfiction Puttin' on My Pearls By Cathryn Braswell My Dinner with Gacy By Andy Martello Mysteries of the Shenandoah Valley By Casey Clabough Getting Lucky By Dale Purvis Poetry Your Mind and You Are Our Sargasso Sea By Lita Sorensen Midsummer By Lita Sorensen Windows By Lita Sorensen Simple Man By B.K. Birch The View from Here By Mary Hudock The Dinner Party By Ruth Mark Fiction It's in the Stars By Linda Gallant Potts An Intimate Evening with Papa By Lance Garrison Ballard The Prank By Terri L. Knight A Pocketful of Starflakes By Leslie Wolter Cover Art Photography by Seth Brown About the Contributors © 2006, River Walk Journal and respective authors and artists. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Bill Mausteller Policy Director - PA State Rep. Jess Stairs Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Sen. Fiction Editor - Patti Kurtz Sen. Poetry Editor - Neeldhara Misra Sen. Creative Nonfiction Editor - Brenda Coxe Contributing Editor - Robert Dittman Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/submission.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit http://www.volunteermatch.org/results/org_detail.jsp?orgid=58479. |
Review of Lost in the Void By L.M. Walker There is nothing like intense passion and heartfelt sincerity to make a personal nonfiction literary experience involving and even gripping. This is true even if the work seems to strain credibility. Lost in the Void by Wisconsin born Lana M. Walker meets this criteria. Then again truth is always stranger than fiction. Title refers to the “law free” void that exists between the U. S. and the United Kingdom wherein long-term non-citizen visa holders reside in Britain but are not protected by the laws of the United Kingdom. Theme is remarkably reminiscent of a similarly themed book entitled “Not Without My Children,” from the late eighties. First a book, then a viscerally popular movie, NWMC dealt with a bitter international custody dispute and the scathing emotions it engendered. There is nothing as malicious as having young children as the crux of conflict to intensify adult emotional friction to the boiling point. Lost in the Void presents the situation as follows: Lana Walker, youngest of four children, moved to Europe in 1995. For many any such move would be the harbinger of sweeping romance and adventure. For Walker the exact opposite was true. After traveling and studying extensively in Europe she gave birth in 1997 to twin daughters, Nya and Keara. Walker and children moved to England in 1998 and acquired a stepdad where they remain to this day. Walker has written extensively with poems and photographs and was working toward her master’s degree. It was when she took up residence in the U. K. that the tenuous romance ended and the nightmare began. One informed source explains the conflict succinctly when it describes Ms. Walker, recently divorced from first husband Sean, as an American citizen who has suffered the terrible luck of being victimized by a foreign (read British) justice system that is biased against non-citizens. We meet new husband and stepfather Tom, a salesman by trade and early one a charming character. In full view of those who should be screaming he physically and sexually abuses his new wife and stepdaughters--slowly, mercilessly and systematically. The situation worsens sickeningly from there. Granted there are often two sides to every story, sometimes more. Still, one would be very hard pressed to justify the new husband’s actions. The reader can feel the mother’s emotional involvement in the very first sentence. “Life is full of defining moments from the instant we are born . . . It’s how we deal with [time and situations] . . . that defines who we are . . . As adults we think we’ve got it all figured out until the first real tragedy of our life happens changing all of the definitions we had known up to this point.” Walker alternately combines essay style writing and crime writing chronology. She does so both effectively and awkwardly. The style begs more polish. One of the problems in reviewing a work such as this is that one feels heretical about criticizing a work as powerfully sincere as this one. Still, for as important a subject matter as this is a significantly more work needed to be done to make it a clearer and a more comprehensive read. Walker even admits this in a sidebar. There is obviously much to the story that needs to be said and is worthy of our time. Text reviewed felt like first draft material, which it may well have been. A professionally revised final draft could become a “must read.” It is clearly a story that deserves to be told but told more smoothly and articulately. Robert Dittman |