Life on the Fringe

About the Book

Life on the Fringe is the tale of a woman plagued by the effects of manic depression and seasonal affective disorder whose condition is greatly aggravated by the birth of her sixth child, which leads to poor living conditions and isolation for the family. The woman resents the child from her birth, and a struggle between the two escalates out of proportion, resulting in the torture of the girl that she must endure in order to keep the family together. The girl adores her father and competes with her mother for his love and attention. Although the father takes a special interest in the girl and a strong bond forms between them, his unwavering love for his wife is no match for the girl. When the father contracts tuberculosis and is sent to a sanatorium for over two years, the young girl is left vulnerable to the vicious attacks from her mother, and the hatred they feel for one another fuels their struggle, causing the girl to rebel, which leads to even greater abuse by her mother. By the time the father returns to the home, the mother has sunk into a deep despair, never to recover. Her death is greeted with relief by the young girl, but also the loss of her father’s attention, whose life has become meaningless without his wife. The girl does find love outside the home and is finally able to look forward to a brighter future.

About the Author

About the Author Allison O’Conner graduated university with a degree in the social sciences where she studied psychology, philosophy, family dynamics, and English. Her fiction is drawn from case studies, which were amalgamated and dramatized to produce her book. Although the tale depicts an extreme example of the dysfunction of a manic-depressive woman and the effects it has on the family and the focus of one child in particular, those who suffer from psychological problems will recognize and empathize with some of the characters. Those who are not so afflicted may come to a better understanding of the problems faced by those who suffer such misfortune. Although all characters and places are fictitious, some readers may see similarities to their own lives. Because the story is written in the mid-1940s and ’50s, the Social Services were not in place and the family was left unprotected and vulnerable. It is hoped that such madness would not be left unchecked today.