I’m a huge lover of stories about dysfunctional families. Maybe because I grew up in one that was all at once nonsensical yet overwhelmingly loving. Maybe that’s why I’m in love with stories by George Saunders like “Sticks”, David Sedaris’ stories, as well as Augusten Burroughs’ Running with Scissors or Akhil Sharma‘s Family Life. I can’t get enough of stories like Silver Linings Playbook about a protagonist struggling with bipolar disorder or Ellen Forney’s graphic novel, Marbles. These stories make me feel less alone. George Saunders’ narrator in “Sticks” recounts in just two paragraphs, about 100 words or so, just how eccentric and controlling the father is, how he deals with grief and love for family and country and holidays with only a metal pole in the front lawn. Maybe that’s why I fell deeply in love with the movie, Knives Out, recently. A whodunnit movie that explores dynamics within dysfunctional families as well as class and race.
What are other dysfunctional family stories or films that you would recommend?
Photo Credit: Sarah Kilian on Unsplash
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