Review of "She Got Up Off the Couch and Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana" by Haven Kimmel

This memoir is the sequel to 'A Girl Named Zippy'. In that first set of stories, Haven Kimmel - who was nicknamed Zippy by her dad - writes about her wonderful childhood in Mooreland, Indiana.

Haven was born in 1965, when her brother Dan was 13 and her sister Melinda was 10, so Zippy really was the baby of the family.


Baby Haven

In the mid-20th century, Mooreland had a population of 300 and contained one main street and one four-way stop sign. Like many insular communities, Mooreland had no multiculturalism; no open homosexuals; no people of color; and women were expected to be homemakers.



'A Girl Named Zippy' reflects the author's very early years, when she viewed the world with rose-colored glasses, and life seemed as good as it could possibly be. In this sequel, Haven is more clear-eyed, though she's still funny, cheerful, and happy.

The book's title - 'She Got Up Off the Couch' - refers to Haven's mother Delonda. Delonda grew up in a middle-class family and planned to go to college. Instead, Delonda married Bob Jarvis when she was 17, thinking he was a 26-year-old pilot. Instead Bob was 19, a poor provider, and an autocrat with a bad temper.


Haven's mother Delonda


Young Haven with her father Bob

Delonda was a devout Quaker who took (a less than enthusiastic) Zippy to church three times a week, though Haven's father Bob never went along. In fact Bob was reluctant to set foot in a chapel of any kind, even for his own wedding anniversary party (more about that later).


A Quaker Meeting House

Bob worked for Delco-Remy for some years, but the Jarvis family was impoverished. Bob himself drank, gambled, dressed to the nines, and always had money in his wallet. However the Jarvises lived in a home with no heat; got government subsidized food; and Delonda and Haven wore hand-me-downs.



In an amusing anecdote, Haven mentions her amazement when she visited a home with an entertainment center in the living room. Haven recalls, 'We had an entertainment center too. A small television on an old crate with a hammer nearby - to fix the set when it acted up.'



When we first meet Haven's mother, Delonda is approaching 40, obese, and has a cozy nest on the sofa, with a big box of novels from the Bookmobile and lots of crunchy snacks. Haven asserts that, 'though mother almost never left the couch, she was a woman of many gifts.' Delonda knit, did ceramics, and sewed, all while talking on the phone with her church lady friends.



Delonda is a loving but neglectful mother to Haven, who is usually bathed and fed by the parents of her playmates, or by Delonda's friend Olive. Haven mentions stepping into Olive's home; having her clothes stripped off and laundered; being scrubbed down in the bathtub; then taking care because 'who knows when' her things would be washed again.



In this book, Delonda fulfills a lifelong dream. After being married for more than 20 years and raising a family, Delonda becomes a student at Ball State University.



Haven's stories about Delonda's 'upward trajectory' are hilarious and telling. Delonda doesn't drive, has no money, and is given no support by her husband Bob. Bob won't even drive Delonda to register for - or take - the CLEP test (College Level Examination Program). Delonda isn't deterred though. She aces the CLEP exam and is exempted from two years of college classes.


Abraham Lincoln commercial for the CLEP test

Delonda makes rapid progress after getting accepted to Ball State University. Delonda's hilarious, foul-mouthed neighbor Bonnie teaches her to drive. Then - with part of her school loan - Delonda buys a used VW Beetle that has no working windshield wipers and is barely roadworthy.



When Delonda sees a notice about ads on cars, she has the entire VW Beetle appliquéd with pictures of Clairol Herbal Essence Shampoo. This garners Delonda $20 per month - enough for gas, parking, and lunch at college.



Delonda is an excellent student and graduates summa cum laude after two years, having lost over 100 pounds. There's a vignette in which Delonda sails across campus on a borrowed bike that's way too big for her - with handbrakes she doesn't know how to use - yelling "I'm out of control." Students scurry out of the way and a professor dives into the bushes....but Delonda arrives at her destination, albeit with her wig askew and her clothing torn.



Delonda goes on to get a Master's Degree and becomes an English teacher. Haven has lots of stories about accompanying her mother to school and meeting Delonda's interesting friends and acquaintances.


Delonda Jarvis

Haven rightly points out that her mother - and other women of her mom's generation - were at the forefront of the female empowerment movement. During the later 1900s, increasing numbers of women decided they wanted to be more than wives and mothers, and they did something about it.



As might be expected, Bob was put off by Delonda's autonomy, and he behaved badly. Sadly, Haven was hurt by the consequences.

Delonda's personal journey is compelling, but it's a small part of the book. Most of Haven's tales are about herself, her family, her friends, her pets, her shenanigans, and the people of Mooreland. I'll give some examples.

⭐ Haven accidentally inhales a persimmon seed, and has to vacuum it out of her nose before her mother sees.



⭐ Haven loves other people's 'treasures', like her father's jar of animal teeth, her brother's fossils, her sister's chain made of folded gum wrappers, her mother's Chinese puzzle box, and her friend's miniature iron and ironing board.


Chain made of gum wrappers

Haven hates to wear shoes, and goes barefoot as often as she can. When Haven's dad buys her sandals, she tries to ruin them by hosing them down and stepping in mud.



⭐Haven goes to a Quaker sleep-away camp for a week, and Delonda sends Haven off with a woman's skirt and queen-size pantyhose for prayer services - along with safety pins to make them fit. Of course, Haven can't make this work.



⭐Haven's sister Melinda gets married at 17, and Haven - bereft about losing her sister - goes along on the honeymoon. Later, when Melinda gives birth to baby Josh, Haven falls head over heels in love with the tot, and provides constant instructions for his care.



⭐Haven frequently listens to the following songs: The Playmates' 'The Little Nash Rambler Song (Beep Beep)'; Elton John's 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight'; The Osmonds' 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother'; The Associations' 'Along Comes Mary'; Frankie Lane's 'Swamp Girl', and others. This music drives her father nuts.


The Little Nash Rambler Song

⭐Haven gets crushes on bald men, such as Telly Savalas, Yul Brynner, and the man in the 7-Up commercial who puts the lime in the coconut.


Lime in the coconut commercial

⭐ While playing 'Crack The Whip' on roller skates, Haven's arm is badly broken, and she faces a long (though humorous) treatment and recovery.



⭐Bob Jarvis leaves Delco-Remy with his pension and disability payments (wink wink). Bob then becomes a volunteer deputy sheriff, a job that that comes with a car, a gun, and opportunities to rough up wrongdoers. Bob loves it.



⭐Bob puts a false ceiling beneath the 12-foot high ceiling in the living room, and a horde of mice move into the space, invite all their friends, and run back and forth all day.



⭐Melinda throws a WONDERFUL 25th wedding anniversary party for her parents in the Quaker Meeting House. Bob doesn't want to attend and leaves the party soon after it begins, with Melinda following behind begging him to stay.



Note: Though Bob comes off as self-centered and resentful in my examples, he loves Haven (until he doesn't) and Haven returns the affection in spades. She adores her dad.

There are LOTS MORE great stories in the book, and I'd urge interested readers to start with 'A Girl Named Zippy' and then go on to 'She Got Up Off The Couch." Highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars