DeeJay and Betty

Barbara McGregor is an associate of Duncan’s English Language
Consulting Ltd. in Edmonton.

This novel traces the lives of two women who grew up in dysfunctional
families in British Columbia.

DeeJay Banwin’s mother has a penchant for drugs and violent men. Book
One explores Deejay’s trials as she moves from one seedy motel to
another, eating two-day-old Big Macs and suffering physical and verbal
abuse at the hands of her drunken mother and her mother’s strung-out
lovers. The book at this point seldom rises in quality above that of a
dime-store novel, but it does offer some insights into the terrible
injustices often meted out by our child-welfare system.

When Betty Fiddick is not being raped by her stepfather, she is being
left alone at home, abandoned by an ineffectual mother. The tone of the
novel softens in Book Two as one senses the author’s sympathy and
compassion for the traumatized child. If nothing else, Betty is a
survivor; she grows up angry but resilient, finally establishing herself
as a respected trucker. DeeJay Banwin’s and Betty Fiddick’s paths
converge in the middle of a sexual-assault trial. (DeeJay’s daughter
has been violated by Betty’s stepfather.) The two women form a strong
and caring lesbian relationship.

For all its faults, this novel does offer some moments of understanding
and empathy for victims of child abuse.