Mona: A Mother's Story

Robin V.H. Bellamy was an editor and bibliographer in Vancouver.

The subtitle here provides a useful starting point for a discussion of what this book is and is not. First of all, Mona is the author’s four-year-old daughter, who has leukemia. This is the story not of Mona, but of her mother’s struggles during the course of the illness.

Secondly, this is not the emotional outpouring one might expect of a bereaved parent: the tone is cool; the style, even clipped. Readers who seek a “moving” account of the trials of one who has leukemia, or of the death of a child, will be disappointed, not only because this is not a sentimental work, but because very little is revealed about Mona herself. Similarly, there are no detailed descriptions of the medical procedures involved, although interviews between the parents and hospital personnel (portrayed as somewhat heartless) are included.

On the other hand, people who are interested in the author’s predicament, particularly those who are facing or have faced a similarly stressful situation, may appreciate hearing of Bureau’s experiences. To maintain courage, she had to steel herself against the barrage of well-intended but often morale-destroying advice of friends and relatives. To keep her home together she had to see that in her concern for Mona she didn’t overlook her healthy son (who had just started school) or shun her husband’s embraces as something too frivolous under the circumstances. She discovers that she can live up to all the demands life is making of her — by living only one day at a time, concentrating on the exigencies and joys of the present rather than on the future, which will always be uncertain.

Mona was originally published in French (Los Editions Heritage Inc., 1979); this English translation is sure to find a new, appreciative audience.