Out from 'Behind these Doors'

(Jonathan Farrell/Under the Sun) When long-time Sonoma resident and realtor Catherine Sevenau started writing down her family-life experiences, she had not suspected it would take her on a personal journey, re-unite and create a healing in her family, and bring so many people together.

She was overwhelmed when Readers’ Books overflowed with people who stopped by this past November 13 for the official launch of her new book, “Passages from Behind These Doors: A Family Memoir.”

“My book launch on Thursday night at Readers’ was a ‘life event.’” Sevenau posted on Facebook, “I felt held, seen, heard, and loved. It was joyous with my heart filled to the brim.”

The days and weeks following the book launch, Sevenau has received much encouragement and congratulations from an expanding audience on the social media networks. Yet, even with 21st century technology helping move things along, such as a blog as well as a Facebook page, there is something about the actual tactile book itself that people are responding to.

The collection of family photos helps illustrate what Sevenau describes in her short-story form. The book is a kaleidoscope of twenty recollections of 53 pages; it is an easy and engaging read. She has also recorded the twenty stories, which are available on-line.

What pulls the reader into the book is the way Sevenau speaks of not just her past, but of a collective past. Talking about school, church, work and society, her writing is easily identifiable. People who grew up during the post-World War II years of the 1950s and ‘60s would definitely find something recognizable in her prose and musings.

Even when some of the material that Sevenau covers becomes complex, as most family settings do, her ability to share them comes naturally. Perhaps it is because she recollects with humor as well as a poetic lilt. “My father, not one to boil over, married a kettle of emotions,” writes Sevenau. “If he could’ve loosened his grip and if my mother hadn’t completely unraveled, perhaps my childhood would’ve have been different. But it was what it was.”

Sevenau was the youngest of five children spanning fourteen years. Her mother had several nervous breakdowns, and after her birth, her oldest sister was put in charge of raising her. Eventually, others took in the younger children. She had other mother figures that were “good enough,” and her father remained a stable figure in her life.

Like many who seek to understand, Sevenau initially began the book as part of her work for a course she was taking. It evolved into a five-year journey of self-exploration. Of course, whenever family histories are told, particularly those parts kept behind closed doors, relationships tend to go awry. “After an upset with my middle sister regarding one of the stories, who was also dying from lung cancer, I put the book on hold for five years. During those five years I worked on my family genealogy,” said Sevenau. “They were all dead. It was safer.” After enough time had passed, I felt finishing this family memoir was once again an idea whose time had come.

Despite the initial upset, the family has reconnected inside of this shared experience. She’d always said, “If it had been up to me, I’d have kept the family together. With the writing of this book, I’ve done that, and then some.”

This is why the turnout at Readers’ had such an impact upon Sevenau. It is as if not only her family was saying it’s okay to recount the stories, but as if the universe itself was saying, “go for it!”

To learn more about and her book “Passages from Behind These Doors: A Family Memoir,” visit:http://sevenau.

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