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PERIPHERAL VIEW
Pearl and Sonny are in love and are determined to get married, which shouldn’t be an impossible endeavor for two single, employed adults. But Pearl and Sonny have obstacles. Despite her intelligence and obvious capacity for self-sufficiency, Pearl has lived in a healthcare facility her entire adult life because of the epilepsy she’s had since childhood. And Sonny lives life in a slower and simpler realm. People wonder if he can take care of himself, let alone Pearl.
However, with the help of a nurse who isn’t afraid to take some chances, a perceptive social worker, and Pearl’s loving, long-lost niece, Sonny and Pearl seem to be on the road to a wedding and a life of their own. Unfortunately, some people with selfish interests are hiding in the shadows and are determined to keep Sonny and Pearl separate—and Pearl in the healthcare facility.
As friendships form and strengthen, Pearl uses her wit and knowledge to help others see beyond a peripheral view.
However, with the help of a nurse who isn’t afraid to take some chances, a perceptive social worker, and Pearl’s loving, long-lost niece, Sonny and Pearl seem to be on the road to a wedding and a life of their own. Unfortunately, some people with selfish interests are hiding in the shadows and are determined to keep Sonny and Pearl separate—and Pearl in the healthcare facility.
As friendships form and strengthen, Pearl uses her wit and knowledge to help others see beyond a peripheral view.
356 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 13, 2016
This heartwarming novel by first time author Rita Kuehn is a tale about the courage to see an individual for who they are, not his or her disability. It is also about the courage to stand up and be counted, to require the most from life, no matter the circumstances. In the case of “Peripheral View,” the tale begins with a love story. Pearl is in love with Sonny and wants to get married. For Pearl, this is no small matter; institutionalized for epilepsy since childhood, her life within Glory Heights Healthcare Facility is very restricted.
Pearl has never wanted anything more, and she is determined to achieve her goal of marriage and a happy life…on the outside. However, there’s one person standing in Pearl’s way to happiness, her sister Susan (who is also her benefactor), who is working in concert with the administration of the facility to keep Pearl just as she is---under control.
Pearl is determined, and she seeks out the assistance of a niece (who never knew she existed), a nurse, and her social worker to help her achieve her goal. The slow bloom of this character (as well as those who come to see just what a strong person Pear is) makes for an engrossing story that will have readers cheering the rebellion on.
Based on a true story, Kuehn’s novel is as much a love story about really seeing a person as an individual as it is a romance. Even those closest to Pearl have never really seen her before, as a person with feelings and not just a problem to cope with. Forced to wear a protective helmet and unsteady by years of medication, it’s been easier for people to dismiss her, to take a “peripheral view” rather than acknowledge the humanity of Pearl as an individual. Her sheer force of personality wins over her caretakers, allowing them to see her in a new way.
Once she is able to connect with her niece and gain internal support from Nurse Charlotte and her social worker Matthew (who truly become her friends, not just caretakers), the battle is well under way, with an end result that is hardly surprising. Although the bride and groom face challenges coping with their new lives, in this story, everything works to support them as individuals and not just their ease of care. If only real life could have such happy endings. That perhaps is the ultimate lesson of “Peripheral View,” that it takes a village to support someone with a disability, but that challenge need not prevent any individual from having a complete and happy life.
Merged review:
This heartwarming novel by first time author Rita Kuehn is a tale about the courage to see an individual for who they are, not his or her disability. It is also about the courage to stand up and be counted, to require the most from life, no matter the circumstances. In the case of Peripheral View, the tale begins with a love story. Pearl is in love with Sonny and wants to get married. For Pearl, this is no small matter; institutionalized for epilepsy since childhood, her life within Glory Heights Healthcare Facility is very restricted.
Pearl has never wanted anything more, and she is determined to achieve her goal of marriage and a happy life...on the outside. However, there's one person standing in Pearl's way to happiness, her sister Susan (who is also her benefactor), who is working in concert with the administration of the facility to keep Pearl just as she is---under control.
Pearl is determined, and she seeks out the assistance of a niece (who never knew she existed), a nurse, and her social worker to help her achieve her goal. The slow bloom of this character (as well as those who come to see just what a strong person Pear is) makes for an engrossing story that will have readers cheering the rebellion on.
Based on a true story, Kuehn's novel is as much a love story about really seeing a person as an individual as it is a romance. Even those closest to Pearl have never really seen her before, as a person with feelings and not just a problem to cope with. Forced to wear a protective helmet and unsteady by years of medication, it's been easier for people to dismiss her, to take a "peripheral view" rather than acknowledge the humanity of Pearl as an individual. Her sheer force of personality wins over her caretakers, allowing them to see her in a new way.
Once she is able to connect with her niece and gain internal support from Nurse Charlotte and her social worker Matthew (who truly become her friends, not just caretakers), the battle is well under way, with an end result that is hardly surprising. Although the bride and groom face challenges coping with their new lives, in this story, everything works to support them as individuals and not just their ease of care. If only real life could have such happy endings. That perhaps is the ultimate lesson of "Peripheral View," that it takes a village to support someone with a disability, but that challenge need not prevent any individual from having a complete and happy life.
Pearl has never wanted anything more, and she is determined to achieve her goal of marriage and a happy life…on the outside. However, there’s one person standing in Pearl’s way to happiness, her sister Susan (who is also her benefactor), who is working in concert with the administration of the facility to keep Pearl just as she is---under control.
Pearl is determined, and she seeks out the assistance of a niece (who never knew she existed), a nurse, and her social worker to help her achieve her goal. The slow bloom of this character (as well as those who come to see just what a strong person Pear is) makes for an engrossing story that will have readers cheering the rebellion on.
Based on a true story, Kuehn’s novel is as much a love story about really seeing a person as an individual as it is a romance. Even those closest to Pearl have never really seen her before, as a person with feelings and not just a problem to cope with. Forced to wear a protective helmet and unsteady by years of medication, it’s been easier for people to dismiss her, to take a “peripheral view” rather than acknowledge the humanity of Pearl as an individual. Her sheer force of personality wins over her caretakers, allowing them to see her in a new way.
Once she is able to connect with her niece and gain internal support from Nurse Charlotte and her social worker Matthew (who truly become her friends, not just caretakers), the battle is well under way, with an end result that is hardly surprising. Although the bride and groom face challenges coping with their new lives, in this story, everything works to support them as individuals and not just their ease of care. If only real life could have such happy endings. That perhaps is the ultimate lesson of “Peripheral View,” that it takes a village to support someone with a disability, but that challenge need not prevent any individual from having a complete and happy life.
Merged review:
This heartwarming novel by first time author Rita Kuehn is a tale about the courage to see an individual for who they are, not his or her disability. It is also about the courage to stand up and be counted, to require the most from life, no matter the circumstances. In the case of Peripheral View, the tale begins with a love story. Pearl is in love with Sonny and wants to get married. For Pearl, this is no small matter; institutionalized for epilepsy since childhood, her life within Glory Heights Healthcare Facility is very restricted.
Pearl has never wanted anything more, and she is determined to achieve her goal of marriage and a happy life...on the outside. However, there's one person standing in Pearl's way to happiness, her sister Susan (who is also her benefactor), who is working in concert with the administration of the facility to keep Pearl just as she is---under control.
Pearl is determined, and she seeks out the assistance of a niece (who never knew she existed), a nurse, and her social worker to help her achieve her goal. The slow bloom of this character (as well as those who come to see just what a strong person Pear is) makes for an engrossing story that will have readers cheering the rebellion on.
Based on a true story, Kuehn's novel is as much a love story about really seeing a person as an individual as it is a romance. Even those closest to Pearl have never really seen her before, as a person with feelings and not just a problem to cope with. Forced to wear a protective helmet and unsteady by years of medication, it's been easier for people to dismiss her, to take a "peripheral view" rather than acknowledge the humanity of Pearl as an individual. Her sheer force of personality wins over her caretakers, allowing them to see her in a new way.
Once she is able to connect with her niece and gain internal support from Nurse Charlotte and her social worker Matthew (who truly become her friends, not just caretakers), the battle is well under way, with an end result that is hardly surprising. Although the bride and groom face challenges coping with their new lives, in this story, everything works to support them as individuals and not just their ease of care. If only real life could have such happy endings. That perhaps is the ultimate lesson of "Peripheral View," that it takes a village to support someone with a disability, but that challenge need not prevent any individual from having a complete and happy life.
October 10, 2012
Peripheral View
by Rita Kuehn
Langdon Street press
www.Langdon Street press.com
Pearl lives in an institution and has for years. She gets seizures, but none of the medicine helps so she ditches them or cuts them in half. She makes an escape attempt to meet her boyfriend, Sonny, but just as she almost makes it she throws a seizure and the nurse and warden of the hospital take her back to bed. They wonder why she's fully dressed in the middle of the night. While the rest of the residents line up to board a bus for their day trip to work, a black Lincoln town car pulls up and the chauffeur, Anton, opens the door to let Pearl inside.
Pearls thoughts ramble through her mind, thinking of how the situation she is in came to pass. Her and her friend Amelia were walking behind her house on its lovely grounds, enjoying themselves as young teenage girls do. When Pearl has her first seizure, her mother, hearing her daughter's friend scream, runs to her and holds her down until the seizure passes. Neither mother nor daughter knew what had happened. Her parents hold out hope, but the doctors tests point to that dreaded word — epilepsy, a disease considered in the same family as insanity. And Pearls dreams of a happy future are shattered.
She spends her life in Glory Heights, institutionalized by her own sister. Years later, Pearl sends a letter to Susan, a State Senator, who at 54 would be happy if she never heard from her sister Pearl again. Their parents are dead now and Pearl is her responsibility — and now Pearl writes her saying she wants to marry Sonny. Pearl, at 52, knows no life outside the mental institution and Susan plans to keep it that way. She's been jealous of Pearl and her good-natured manner, her beauty and her place in their parent's hearts. Her epilepsy turns Susan’s jealousy into pure hatred.
Pearl's letter to her sister turns out to be a big mistake. Susan immediately has Sonny removed from the factory where Pearl and he work: also forbidding Sonny's visits to Glory Heights. Pearl is resilient and determined that her and Sonny will be together one way or another. Her caseworker, Matthew, in cahoots with her nurse, Charlotte, have a few tricks up their sleeves to give Pearl the happiness she deserves. Matthew finds a way to get Jordana, Pearl's niece, to help. Susan never told Pearl or Jordana of their existence.
Sensual sparks fly between Jordana and Matthew as they discuss Pearl’s problems and possible solutions. Jordana has a poor relationship with her mother and never doubts that she will stoop to lock away her own sister for good—and keep her public constituents from knowing that she exists.
Author Rita Kuehn writes a poignant story tinged with humor about the appalling lives of disabled patients from the 40s through the 60s. She shows the resiliency of one woman who refuses to tolerate it. The bittersweet ending of Peripheral View will give readers both pleasure and food for thought.
Reviewer: Micki Peluso, writer, journalist, and author of . . . And the Whippoorwill Sang
by Rita Kuehn
Langdon Street press
www.Langdon Street press.com
Pearl lives in an institution and has for years. She gets seizures, but none of the medicine helps so she ditches them or cuts them in half. She makes an escape attempt to meet her boyfriend, Sonny, but just as she almost makes it she throws a seizure and the nurse and warden of the hospital take her back to bed. They wonder why she's fully dressed in the middle of the night. While the rest of the residents line up to board a bus for their day trip to work, a black Lincoln town car pulls up and the chauffeur, Anton, opens the door to let Pearl inside.
Pearls thoughts ramble through her mind, thinking of how the situation she is in came to pass. Her and her friend Amelia were walking behind her house on its lovely grounds, enjoying themselves as young teenage girls do. When Pearl has her first seizure, her mother, hearing her daughter's friend scream, runs to her and holds her down until the seizure passes. Neither mother nor daughter knew what had happened. Her parents hold out hope, but the doctors tests point to that dreaded word — epilepsy, a disease considered in the same family as insanity. And Pearls dreams of a happy future are shattered.
She spends her life in Glory Heights, institutionalized by her own sister. Years later, Pearl sends a letter to Susan, a State Senator, who at 54 would be happy if she never heard from her sister Pearl again. Their parents are dead now and Pearl is her responsibility — and now Pearl writes her saying she wants to marry Sonny. Pearl, at 52, knows no life outside the mental institution and Susan plans to keep it that way. She's been jealous of Pearl and her good-natured manner, her beauty and her place in their parent's hearts. Her epilepsy turns Susan’s jealousy into pure hatred.
Pearl's letter to her sister turns out to be a big mistake. Susan immediately has Sonny removed from the factory where Pearl and he work: also forbidding Sonny's visits to Glory Heights. Pearl is resilient and determined that her and Sonny will be together one way or another. Her caseworker, Matthew, in cahoots with her nurse, Charlotte, have a few tricks up their sleeves to give Pearl the happiness she deserves. Matthew finds a way to get Jordana, Pearl's niece, to help. Susan never told Pearl or Jordana of their existence.
Sensual sparks fly between Jordana and Matthew as they discuss Pearl’s problems and possible solutions. Jordana has a poor relationship with her mother and never doubts that she will stoop to lock away her own sister for good—and keep her public constituents from knowing that she exists.
Author Rita Kuehn writes a poignant story tinged with humor about the appalling lives of disabled patients from the 40s through the 60s. She shows the resiliency of one woman who refuses to tolerate it. The bittersweet ending of Peripheral View will give readers both pleasure and food for thought.
Reviewer: Micki Peluso, writer, journalist, and author of . . . And the Whippoorwill Sang
July 30, 2012
Peripheral View is a touching story about love on many levels.
Pearl and Sonny fight for more than their romantic relationship. They fight for independence and respect. I was not only touched by their love and upset by the injustice they had to endure, but was also compelled to look deep inside. If I hadn't had the chance to see the world through their eyes, how would I have reacted? Rita Kuehn did a wonderful job letting the reader walk in Pearl's and Sonny's shoes for a while.
Love, respect and self-respect is what all characters in this story have to figure out for themselves. This beautiful story offers romance, suspense and food for thought.
Pearl and Sonny fight for more than their romantic relationship. They fight for independence and respect. I was not only touched by their love and upset by the injustice they had to endure, but was also compelled to look deep inside. If I hadn't had the chance to see the world through their eyes, how would I have reacted? Rita Kuehn did a wonderful job letting the reader walk in Pearl's and Sonny's shoes for a while.
Love, respect and self-respect is what all characters in this story have to figure out for themselves. This beautiful story offers romance, suspense and food for thought.
June 23, 2019
Great story!
It was well written and I especially enjoyed that the places were familiar to me. I look forward to your next book!
It was well written and I especially enjoyed that the places were familiar to me. I look forward to your next book!
January 16, 2013
Not very well written, too predictable.
Want to read
February 15, 2016356pgs, she has epilepsy, he is slow, they want to marry, people try to run interference so they can't
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews