Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
Tricia Penley still isn’t used to seeing her profile etched in pastel in the new children’s book, “A Mother’s Dream.”
“It kind of freaked me out when I saw the pictures,” Penley said with a laugh during an interview last week. “One looks exactly like my profile. My family was like, ‘wow’.”
But aside from the shock of seeing her shoulder-length brown hair, features and dancer’s physique re-created in Scarborough author David Packhem’s book, Penley, a second-year student and member of the University of Maine Dance Team, said she was honored to be a part of the project.
The book is an illustrated poem similar in rhythm to Clement Clark Moores’ “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Artist Iona Desmond created an elaborate backdrop of bright colors and dream-like strokes to embody Packhem’s words.
Packhem, who has known Penley and her family for years, asked the dancer to pose for Desmond for the creation of the book’s character, also named Tricia, who gains self-esteem through dance and the kindness of a teacher.
“I’ve never done anything like that before,” Tricia said about posing for the artist. “I went in there three times this summer to pose, both in the dress and just in general sitting around. It was fun; it was interesting.”
It was also hard. Penley said posing for Desmond became tiring after hours of keeping every muscle in her body static.
“You just want to uncross your legs and switch or look to the side. I was really tired after. My mom was like, you’re such a wus,” Penley said.
But although her name and likeness are portrayed in the book, the story is not based on Penley’s life.
According to Packhem, the book is a compilation of original ideas mixed with stories either about his family or friends or gleaned from the news. The plot is focused on a Maine working-class family that struggles between a beautiful dream and a harsh reality. In the beginning, the mother, Kay, has a premonition of her newborn daughter growing up to be a dancer and sees her on a stage dancing in a “dress dark as night.” So convinced of that destiny, she creates an exact replica of the dress she sees in the dream.
The real-life version of the dress, according to Penley, was spotted by Packhem’s wife Karen and Penley’s mother on a Halloween shopping trip several years ago. Although they didn’t buy the dress that day, it soon turned up in Penley’s house with a note for her mother. The note read, “From the day you walked in the store, I knew you should be my owner.”
Packhem had bought the dress as a surprise, and three years later it became the central image in his book.
“Since it fit me, and I’ve been dancing forever, he asked me to pose [for the book],” Penley said.
As the book continues, Kay (the mother who dreamt of her daughter’s success as a dancer) and her husband Jim, learn that their 2-year-old daughter Jessie has contracted a disease that will leave her legs weak forever.
Packhem said this aspect of the book was inspired by a Boston Globe article that told of a little girl who, because of viral meningitis, would never regain the full use of her legs.
“She would never be a dancer,” Packhem said.
The ending of the book is a realization that although dreams are not always what they seem at first, sometimes they do come true. That lesson is one Packhem is promoting by donating all the proceeds of “A Mother’s Dream” to Project G.R.A.C.E. (Granting Resources and Assistance through Community Effort), an organization founded by his wife Karen that provides needy families with the things other service organizations are not able to supply. Sometimes the organization will help a family with a security deposit for a new apartment, or arrange for free baby-sitting. Packhem said one family that was helped had recently given birth to quadruplets, and at the same time had two other babies to take care of. Project G.R.A.C.E. paid for their diapers.
“Basically, if you call with a need, then they can do it,” Packhem said.
In addition to donating all the proceeds to the organization, Packhem published the book himself rather than going through a publishing house. While this means Project G.R.A.C.E. gets 100 percent of the profits, it also means that Packhem had to pay for the production of the book out of his own pocket. It’s an investment he considers well worth it, as he continues to give all the money toward the non-profit charity.
“I think it’s really admirable that he paid for all the publishing and everything and 100 percocent of the proceeds go to Project G.R.A.C.E.,” Penley said. “Both David and Karen are very giving, and its great to see that played out and people supporting it. It’s a great cause.”
Penley is also involved with Project G.R.A.C.E., and has been since high school. During Christmas break, she helped the organization wrap presents for its adopt-a-family program.
“It’s great; it’s grown a lot over the years,” she said.
Penley’s involvement with the making of “A Mother’s Dream” has so far helped raise close to $6,000 for the charity. Packhem said he hopes to raise about $20,000 total from the book’s revenue.
“A Mother’s Dream” can be purchased at the University Bookstore. For information on Project G.R.A.C.E., go to the organization’s Web site at projectgracemaine.org.
