The Electric Woman
A Memoir in Death-Defying Acts
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4.3 • 17 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A daughter's astonishing journey of loss, self-discovery, and eating fire - through life with the last traveling American sideshow and an adventurous, spirited mother.
Tessa Fontaine's memoir, The Electric Woman, follows the author on a life-affirming odyssey. For three years, Fontaine lived in a constant state of emergency as her mother battled stroke after stroke. But hospitals, wheelchairs, and loss of language couldn't hold back such a woman; she and her husband would see Italy together, come what may.
Thus Fontaine became free to follow her own piper, a literal giant inviting her to "come play" in the World of Wonders, America's last traveling sideshow. Transformed into an escape artist, a snake charmer, and a high-voltage Electra, Fontaine witnessed the marvels of carnival life: intense camaraderie and heartbreak, the guilty thrill of hard-earned cash exchanged for a peek into the impossible, and, most marvelous of all, the stories carnival folks tell about themselves. Through these, Fontaine trained her body to ignore fear and learned how to keep her heart open in the face of loss.
A story for anyone who has ever imagined running away with the circus, wanted to be someone else, or wanted a loved one to live forever, The Electric Woman is ultimately about death-defying acts of all kinds, especially that ever constant: good old-fashioned unconditional love.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Tessa Fontaine’s memoir takes us inside the mind of a terrified young woman as she (literally) lights herself on fire. That’s just the first daredevil stunt Fontaine undertakes during her six months on the road with a carnival sideshow. With startling, kaleidoscopic detail, she chronicles her valiant efforts to face down her lifelong fears of fire and snakes at the same time as she’s confronting the most terrifying threat of all: losing her beloved, unorthodox mother. Fontaine’s story is harrowing, joyful, and profoundly life-affirming.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the opening pages of this fascinating memoir, first-time author Fontaine learns how to eat fire. This is just one of several "death-defying" feats she learned during her stint with the World of Wonders, "the very last traveling sideshow of its kind." Intrigued by illusion and danger, Fontaine a grad student studying writing accepted a surprising invitation to join the show. Not only did she yearn for adventure but she also hoped to temporarily escape from assisting her mother after her mother suffered a debilitating stroke. Fontaine segues between hospital visits to her mother in California's Bay Area and the fantastical world of the carnival, where Fontaine learned to handle snakes, swallow swords, free herself from handcuffs, and eventually master the role of "the electric woman," lighting light bulbs with her tongue. Traveling state and county fairs, Fontaine shares the unusual stories of her fellow carnival workers, all of whom come across as devoted to the exhausting, grueling, yet inspiring work they do each day. Fontaine explores the history of the carnival (e.g., the first incubators were on display in a carnival sideshow in the early 20th century); its pecking order of performers, carnies, and foodies; its humor and dark underbelly. This remarkable, beautifully written memoir explores the depth of mother-daughter love and the courageous acts of overcoming fear and accepting change.
Customer Reviews
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