Two Sisters Find Grace in “Mon Dieu, Love” https://ift.tt/VJxgUIu
Despite their age difference, sisters Elise and Carrie Briggs of Baton Rouge, Louisiana have much in common. For starters, they’re both prone to addictive behaviors, and they battle to get and stay sober. When their lives are in turmoil, both sisters return home to their childhood bedrooms and rely on their mother to help them through. What’s more, Elise and Carrie, both lesbians, tend to have similar taste in women and equally similar bad luck in their dating life.
Muddled relationships, addiction, and a subtle plug for kombucha are only a few details that populate Jane V. Blunschi’s novella, Mon Dieu, Love. Underneath the absurd habits and almost incestual dating preferences of Carrie and Elise, there’s a story of sisterhood, family, and finding compassion in the most unlikely of places.
On the heels of divorce from her wife, Carrie spends her time in therapy and in the aisles of Whole Foods, another therapy of sorts. When she’s not in Al-Anon meetings, Carrie finds catharsis amongst the kombucha, buys Dr. Bronner’s, and tries to reestablish her place in life. Meanwhile, Elise, who had finally found a stable relationship with Jody, a woman who got sober at the same time Elise did, meets Michael, another woman who goes to the same AA meetings. Elise leaves Jody and moves back home (where Carrie is also living), and the story gets really complicated.
The title of the novella, Mon Dieu, Love, translates to “My God, Love.” During one of the sisters’ conversations, Carrie, aghast, asks Elise, “What are the odds that something like this would happen? Mon Dieu, love, what are y’all doing over there?” Although the expression is delivered with disapproval at Elise’s actions with other women, the context surrounding it involves a messy situation where “three hot, dysfunctional lesbians” meet at an AA meeting held at Our Lady, Star-of-the-Sea Catholic Church. Faith is a constant presence in the novella’s pages, and it is just as complex and nuanced as the lives of these strong female characters.
In a story rife with questionable actions and morally ambiguous people, the reader finds herself in a scenario not unlike watching an episode of The Office – despite all the cringe-worthy moments, one can’t help but cheer these women on. In a compact 107 pages, Blunschi successfully introduces the reader to a host of characters and their idiosyncrasies, then guides us through their past, present, and the possibilities of their futures.
Ultimately, Mon Dieu, Love is not about being perfect. It isn’t about finding a path and being steadfast. Nor is it about stepping off the path and being understood. This story is about grace and empathy. It’s about knowing that we will all make mistakes and we will all have our battles, but there’s room for forgiveness amid the flaws. It’s about supporting those around us, supporting ourselves even, despite the anger and pain that reside within each and every one of us, and the blunders we all make.
Mon Dieu, Love
By Jane V. Blunschi
Texas Review Press
Published April 4, 2023
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