Arcadia Shanklin

My Father Lived Radiantly Arcadia Shanklin

A girl is frustrated by small-minded elders, decides to leave the cult. A resort waiter takes his children to the beach during summer custody visitation. A gay man comes out to his straight, teenaged kids. An arthritic man sits on the floor, plays little toy cars with his grandsons. A doctor regards his patient with real kindness. An old hippie plants flowers in the yard, hangs wind chimes and bird feeders. An officer knocks on a door, informs a woman of her father's death. A son and daughter put ashes in the ground. A mother sews her children's fabric-marker art into a panel for the AIDS Quilt. A writer finds her voice.