Deanna O’Daniel’s book, “Kiss Your Elbow: A Kentucky Memoir,” recalls her life as the oldest in a family of 11 children growing up on the outskirts of Louisville in the 1940s and ’50s. She recalls family trips to Fontaine Ferry Park and the annual Christmas parade, back-to-school shopping at Bacon’s and other downtown stores, and the banana splits at W.T. Grant’s dime store. But fun times are only a part of the story; much of the book involves her memories of doing chores and helping to raise her younger brothers and sisters.
O’Daniel was born in 1941 on a farm in Gethsemane, Ky. Her first home later became the Thomas Merton Retreat Center at Bethany Spring. The family remained on the farm until she was 5 years old, and then moved to the Goldsmith Lane area for two years. They spent a few months in Lexington, Ind., and finally settled on a small farm on Hunsinger Lane in the Hikes Point area.
O’Daniel recalls caring for younger siblings, churning butter, making biscuits, sewing and washing clothes, and canning vegetables – all the while yearning to work outside with her brothers. “I was considered the ‘other mother.’ I had to know how to run the household if Mother couldn’t,” she recalls. “Excuses were never accepted. You were on the job from sunup to sundown. As a tomboy, I wanted to be outside with my brothers.”
Throughout the book, she emphasizes the openness, friendliness and helpfulness of friends and neighbors, stating, “When I was 12, I was in charge of the household when Mama went to the hospital to have her ninth baby. I was scared and felt incompetent. I couldn’t have done it without the help of our neighbors.”
Locals will recall many of the places O’Daniel mentions in her book: Scotty’s Market, the Piggly-Wiggly in Buechel, Bauer’s Restaurant and Beer Garden, Fehr’s Brewery, Fanelli’s Ice Cream Bar, Union Station, the Haymarket, Skyway Drive-in, Fannimen’s Bakery and Harding’s Drugstore.
O’Daniel, who has lived in the Cherokee Triangle for more than 30 years, wrote the book over a ten-year period. “I first wrote it for my children and was not planning to publish it,” she says. “I belong to several writers’ groups and read the stories to them. They encouraged me to publish it.” She chose to self publish her book using a print-on-demand publisher, and credits her brother, Jim O’Daniel, for computer help in preparing the manuscript for publication.
O’Daniel is inspired by Kentuwww.carmichaelsbookstore.com/cky writers Bobbie Ann Mason, Wendell Berry and Silas House. She is a member of Women Who Write, Green River Writers, the Cherokee Round Table and Friday Night Writers. O’Daniel strongly recommends that aspiring writers join a writing group so they can read their work aloud and receive feedback and critiques.
“Kiss Your Elbow” has sold well locally, appearing twice on Carmichael’s list of bestsellers. O’Daniel has also been invited to speak to area organizations and read excerpts from her book.
“Kiss Your Elbow: A Kentucky Memoir” is available at Carmichael’s and several other independent bookstores, as well as at Farmington Historic Plantation, Locust Grove and The Speed Art Museum. It can also be purchased online at www.kissyourelbowkentucky.com.
O’Daniel is currently working on a book of poetry and a memoir about the 1970s.
Susan E. Lindsey is a freelance writer, a professional book editor and publicist. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.