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Riding on Comets: A Memoir
Riding on Comets is the true story of an only child growing up in a working-class family during the 1950s and ‘60s.
As the family storyteller, Cat Pleska whispers and shouts about her life growing up around savvy, strong women and hard-working, hard-drinking men. Unlike many family stories set within Appalachia, this story provides an uncommon glimpse into this not coal, but an aluminum plant; not hollers, but small-town America; not hillbillies, but a hard-working family with traditional values.
From the dinner table, to the back porch, to the sprawling countryside, Cat Pleska reveals the sometimes tender, sometimes frightening education of a child who listens at the knees of these giants. She mimics and learns every nuance, every rhythm—how they laugh, smoke, cuss, fight, love, and tell stories—as she unwittingly prepares to carry their tales forward, their words and actions forever etched in her mind. And finally, she discovers a life story of her own.
As the family storyteller, Cat Pleska whispers and shouts about her life growing up around savvy, strong women and hard-working, hard-drinking men. Unlike many family stories set within Appalachia, this story provides an uncommon glimpse into this not coal, but an aluminum plant; not hollers, but small-town America; not hillbillies, but a hard-working family with traditional values.
From the dinner table, to the back porch, to the sprawling countryside, Cat Pleska reveals the sometimes tender, sometimes frightening education of a child who listens at the knees of these giants. She mimics and learns every nuance, every rhythm—how they laugh, smoke, cuss, fight, love, and tell stories—as she unwittingly prepares to carry their tales forward, their words and actions forever etched in her mind. And finally, she discovers a life story of her own.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2015
5 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Cat Pleska
7 books4 followersCat Pleska was born in Hurricane, WV and grew up there and in Point Pleasant, WV. She is the only child of Jean and Vernon Hodges. She married Dan Pleska in 1973, and they have one daughter, Katie.
Cat holds a B.A. in English from West Virginia State University, an M.A. in humanities from Marshall University and an M.F.A. in creative nonfiction from Goucher College. She was a regular writer for Wonderful West Virginia magazine for many years and is an essayist on West Virginia Public Radio. She is also a book reviewer for West Virginia University Press and a former book reviewer for The Charleston Gazette.
Her radio essay, Unexpected Harvest, was published in 2008 in Hamilton Stone Review. She also had essays published in Folklife, Constellations, and the Encyclopedia of West Virginia. She was the editor of Fed from the Blade, an anthology of stories and tales published by Woodland Press. Her memoir Riding on Comets was shortlisted in 2016 for the Indefab Book of the Year. She is a freelance writer and editor, a full-time instructor in the Master of Liberal Arts Studies program at Arizona State University and an adjunct instructor of writing and literature at Marshall University. She also leads writing workshops throughout the region.
Cat holds a B.A. in English from West Virginia State University, an M.A. in humanities from Marshall University and an M.F.A. in creative nonfiction from Goucher College. She was a regular writer for Wonderful West Virginia magazine for many years and is an essayist on West Virginia Public Radio. She is also a book reviewer for West Virginia University Press and a former book reviewer for The Charleston Gazette.
Her radio essay, Unexpected Harvest, was published in 2008 in Hamilton Stone Review. She also had essays published in Folklife, Constellations, and the Encyclopedia of West Virginia. She was the editor of Fed from the Blade, an anthology of stories and tales published by Woodland Press. Her memoir Riding on Comets was shortlisted in 2016 for the Indefab Book of the Year. She is a freelance writer and editor, a full-time instructor in the Master of Liberal Arts Studies program at Arizona State University and an adjunct instructor of writing and literature at Marshall University. She also leads writing workshops throughout the region.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 6, 2015
Cat Pleska's RIDING ON COMETS is a beautifully constructed memoir that launched me straight to the stars. This coming-of-age tale presents an unflinching portrayal of a tricky marriage that included drinking sprees and deathbed vigils, trips to the mental hospital and local moonshiner. The writing is as haunting as the ghostly occurrences that dogged our narrator throughout her life. Filled with CarniVAL danger, first loves, stunning terrain, and macabre humor, this book will resonate with anyone whose upbringing was not the Cleavers, which, let's face it, includes most of us. It's a must-read for Appalachian baby boomers or those who want to understand us.
July 11, 2023
Fantastic writing and storytelling about life in West Virginia! It’s not in chronological order if that bothers people, but it is more a collection of memories and stories - the memoir builds and grows as it goes on. It really resonated with me on a personal level, but I think her writing could draw anyone in.
January 26, 2025
While I appreciate the novelty of reading something in a familiar setting – I know all these towns! – this isn't particularly interesting. The writing is often clunky and awkward, and the first half in particular drags. This does become more heartfelt and profound in the second half, however.
July 24, 2018
I love memoirs on people who have interesting lives and write in an interesting manner. Nothing of interest in this book. I really tried to like it but gave up after a few chapters.
April 11, 2022
This book is phenomenal. What a great representation of an Appalachian experience. Full of stories and experiences that are familiar to anyone in the West Virginia area. Loved every second of it.
November 19, 2024
Enjoyable read. Children can grow up successfully despite poverty and dysfunctional households—the importance of extended families.
January 15, 2026
Very true to the times and place in which she grew up
July 13, 2015
Cat Pleska is a reviewer for the Charleston Gazette, publisher, editor and works for Public Radio.
The memoir starts in the early 1950s, when Pleska is a child. One evening three grown women in the family discuss a near-death experience of the narrator. The grandmother says, "Cathy was sick." When Cat was about one-year old, she got the croup and turned blue. The local doctor could not come to the house because of deep snow. The grandmother concocts fried onions, cheesecloth and a sip of whiskey and it revives Cat, bringing down her fever. The adults refer to the incident only once or twice more during the memoir. The reader senses the myth of healing and rejuvenation operating on a subconscious level, since the writer had been on her death bed.
A working-class family, they move frequently in central West Virginia. The father, Vernon, a binge drinker, works for a Kaiser factory, and is "Robert Mitchum handsome," clever and assured. Jean, the mom is more or less an archetype, nurturing, wise, always reading to her only child. Cat becomes an omnivorous reader, herself, which helps her excel in school.
As in many blue-collar environments, violence erupts occasionally, like when Cat sees her inebriated grandfather fight her uncle. The grandmother separates the "two giants". We see Vernon coming home from beer joints and then loading his rifle, ready to shoot someone for a sleight, but he cools down before actually carrying out threatening actions.
All things considered, Cat leads a healthy, humorous and frolicking life. She spends much time alone playing in the woods. The writing in these sections tends to be cinematic. The work has a "visual" feel throughout.
In junior high she becomes a cheerleader, keeping up high marks, and a "good girl" image. When the Vietnam War scoops up young men, Cat listens to her boyfriends. She does not marry however, and works as a waitress. Cat attends college in her thirties.
The elders (almost of them smokers or heavy drinkers) begin to pass away. This, of course, is poignant, but the writer remains strong and imaginative, not sentimental.
The memoir starts in the early 1950s, when Pleska is a child. One evening three grown women in the family discuss a near-death experience of the narrator. The grandmother says, "Cathy was sick." When Cat was about one-year old, she got the croup and turned blue. The local doctor could not come to the house because of deep snow. The grandmother concocts fried onions, cheesecloth and a sip of whiskey and it revives Cat, bringing down her fever. The adults refer to the incident only once or twice more during the memoir. The reader senses the myth of healing and rejuvenation operating on a subconscious level, since the writer had been on her death bed.
A working-class family, they move frequently in central West Virginia. The father, Vernon, a binge drinker, works for a Kaiser factory, and is "Robert Mitchum handsome," clever and assured. Jean, the mom is more or less an archetype, nurturing, wise, always reading to her only child. Cat becomes an omnivorous reader, herself, which helps her excel in school.
As in many blue-collar environments, violence erupts occasionally, like when Cat sees her inebriated grandfather fight her uncle. The grandmother separates the "two giants". We see Vernon coming home from beer joints and then loading his rifle, ready to shoot someone for a sleight, but he cools down before actually carrying out threatening actions.
All things considered, Cat leads a healthy, humorous and frolicking life. She spends much time alone playing in the woods. The writing in these sections tends to be cinematic. The work has a "visual" feel throughout.
In junior high she becomes a cheerleader, keeping up high marks, and a "good girl" image. When the Vietnam War scoops up young men, Cat listens to her boyfriends. She does not marry however, and works as a waitress. Cat attends college in her thirties.
The elders (almost of them smokers or heavy drinkers) begin to pass away. This, of course, is poignant, but the writer remains strong and imaginative, not sentimental.
July 29, 2015
Conflict is a part of every relationship. And when alcoholism is involved then conflict within a marriage is a given. Alcoholism is responsible for more family problems than any other single cause. In Riding the Comets, Cat Pleska shares her bittersweet story of growing up in a family challenged by generations of alcoholic males. Cat chronicles both the good and not so good of her childhood and adolescence. In poetic prose she shares intimate details, lessons learned, and the legacy she inherited from her colorful, albeit damaged family. Like a skilled painter, she creates loving portraits of her long suffering mother and grandmother. The women endured, the men drank and raised hell, they all told stories, like when baby Cat had the membrane croup and the doctor couldn’t make it up the holler because of deep snow and her grandmother saved her by placing fried onions on her chest “to open her up.”
Sometimes in memoirs about damaged families, the author places blame on relatives and becomes a victim. Not so here. While Cat recounts stories told of the men’s her drunken escapades, she recognizes that drinking was a tradition which they couldn’t overcome. But she also admires for their skilled work ethic, talents, intelligence, and humor. Though her mother suffered from a psychiatric illness, she passed on her love of language and urged Cat to write the stories. Cat shares them in a beautifully written tribute to her family.
Sometimes in memoirs about damaged families, the author places blame on relatives and becomes a victim. Not so here. While Cat recounts stories told of the men’s her drunken escapades, she recognizes that drinking was a tradition which they couldn’t overcome. But she also admires for their skilled work ethic, talents, intelligence, and humor. Though her mother suffered from a psychiatric illness, she passed on her love of language and urged Cat to write the stories. Cat shares them in a beautifully written tribute to her family.
July 1, 2021
Cat Pleska writes with a big heart about her West Virginia family, where the mountain way of life and its traditions go back at least four generations. Pleska's father is an alcoholic, who often leaves his wife and daughter at home, worried and anxious, with no money, no food, and no car. The mother puts up with it because she loves him and believes she has no other choice. Over time, this has a severe impact on her mental health.
In spite of this, Cat grows up as a curious child, full of hope and imagination, constantly challenging herself...be it going out for the cheerleading team, climbing to the tops of trees, or scooting out to a dangerous rock precipice, known as Devil's Seat. Even when her mother has a mental breakdown, even when she finds her father yet again in a saloon, even when her friend who drives her to the fair, slips off into a motel with a couple of the carnies, Pleska pushes ahead, learns from those around her, and carves her own path, graduating high school, then college, then becoming a college professor.. She dreams big and finds her way.
This is a beautifully written book, exploring the complexities of a multi-generational family in West Virginia, who share of lot of love and face many challenges and hardships.
In spite of this, Cat grows up as a curious child, full of hope and imagination, constantly challenging herself...be it going out for the cheerleading team, climbing to the tops of trees, or scooting out to a dangerous rock precipice, known as Devil's Seat. Even when her mother has a mental breakdown, even when she finds her father yet again in a saloon, even when her friend who drives her to the fair, slips off into a motel with a couple of the carnies, Pleska pushes ahead, learns from those around her, and carves her own path, graduating high school, then college, then becoming a college professor.. She dreams big and finds her way.
This is a beautifully written book, exploring the complexities of a multi-generational family in West Virginia, who share of lot of love and face many challenges and hardships.
September 2, 2015
I have to admit, when it comes to this author I am very prejudiced. She is not only a remarkable writer, but a good friend as well.
I highly recommend this memoir she has written of her life, growing up in the 50s & 60s in a small town. You will laugh and you will cry and your heart will ache for her at times, but you have to admire her chutzpah as she deals with the ups and downs, the good times and bad, growing up in a family of storytellers and hard workers.
Enjoy!
I highly recommend this memoir she has written of her life, growing up in the 50s & 60s in a small town. You will laugh and you will cry and your heart will ache for her at times, but you have to admire her chutzpah as she deals with the ups and downs, the good times and bad, growing up in a family of storytellers and hard workers.
Enjoy!
May 13, 2015
Growing up in West Virginia in the 50s and 60s, Cat's life was steeped in family stories, and she was the one entrusted to retell them. Her own memories and experiences of small-town Appalachia deepen this candid and compelling coming-of-age memoir that captures our hearts. Cat is a natural storyteller---a storied child.
April 26, 2021
I enjoyed reading and editing this memoir. The author is from West Virginia and the stories are akin to oral traditions from days bygone. She retells stories with vivid detail as if you are listening to her tell the stories; I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in creative nonfiction. It tells the story of West Virginia for those who have lived in and loved the state.
August 30, 2015
This was an interesting journey into life in Appalachia. The authors memories emerge from the page with laughter, fear, and the reality of everyday life. The descriptions place you in the moment and have you yearning to turn the page.
January 19, 2016
I enjoyed reading Cat Pleska's latest novel. Her writing is thought-provoking and she knows how to draw you into a scene effortlessly. Her story made me hopeful and I look forward to reading more of her work.
September 16, 2015
This was a really great story about life. Made me reminisce. I wish I could tell stories like Cat does but since I can't I get to enjoy reading them.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews