ALI IN THE FAMILY
Ali Bryan mixes comedy, drama, family dysfunction in second novel
It’s called adult dependency disorder.
It’s a condition now recognized by psychologists which covers the phenomenon of grown-up children who continue to live at home with their parents long after they should.
Calgary author Ali Bryan came upon it in an article a few years back and, having three young children of her own who were far from grown, found it academically interesting, if not immediately relevant.
“It’s quite funny, because every country had a different name for it,” says Bryan. “The Germans had one name and with the Italians, it was something like ‘Mama’s boys.’ But it was really funny to see that this was not just a North American issue, but a global problem of adult kids living at home still.”
It’s also a rich minefield for comedy. Certainly more than one bad sitcom has been based around the premise. But while Bryan, a Halifax native and former personal trainer, proved herself to be an adept comic novelist with her 2014 debut, Roost, she is definitely not the sort of writer to resort to a novel full of cheap millennial jokes.
In fact, she thinks members of that oft-criticized generation get a bit of a raw deal when it comes to what older folks see as their failure to launch.
“You need two incomes to get a house now, so what do you do if you’re young and you can’t get a job?” Bryan says. “You go to university and, in some ways, that has become irrelevant. If you don’t have skills on top of having just knowledge, now you’re $80,000 in debt and you can’t get a job.”
So who’s to blame? Well, in Bryan’s funny and poignant second novel, The Figgs, this dynamic becomes even more complicated. The titular family consists of matriarch June, her seemingly flaky husband Randy and three adult children who have yet to move out. Recently retired and yearning a smaller house and a quieter life of travel and rest, June begins to strongly hint that it’s time her children take some responsibility for their lives, show some ambition and ... well ... move out. But the family is hit by a bombshell when youngest son Derek suddenly becomes a single father and adds his newborn son to the household. Meanwhile, his angry big sister Vanessa is attempting to settle into a relationship with a much older woman, while eldest child Thomas seems to sink into a depression as he attempts to pay off his massive student loans with a struggling
cleaning business.
Suddenly, June begins to question what it is exactly that she wants for her children. Does she really want them out of the house? While Bryan’s own children — two girls aged 13 and six and an 11-yearold boy — are nowhere near the moving-out years yet, she said she could relate to that inner conflict.
“I want them to be independent,” she says. “I want them to be making their own decisions and I want them to be informed and capable and resilient. So you try to give them your skills. But there is a certain amount of pushback when they start doing that. So I’m finding that even with my younger kids, they need me less. They don’t need mom to intervene and explain things. In some ways, that means I’ve done my job and I feel that is rewarding. But there is a little bit, I wouldn’t go as far to say sadness, but there is a little bit of regret that you are no longer needed.”
June, while obviously older than Bryan, faces similar pangs of doubt and self-questioning. On the one hand, she fears she may be enabling her children, perhaps making the home a little too comfortable for them to leave. On the other hand, when at least two of her children’s lives appear to be on the verge of change, she suddenly feels the urge to hold on tighter.
This is not the only drama in the Figgs household. Randy has his own bombshell, a family secret that he decides to reveal at this somewhat inopportune time. It brings back the conflicted feelings June has had all her life about being an adopted child. On top of that, the mother who raised her is also ailing in an old-age home.
So the Figgs are going through some hardships. But they are largely relatable ones to anyone who has been a part of family. As with Roost — which told the story of a grieving single mom who attempts to change her life — The Figgs tackles some heavy topics with a light touch and a good deal of comedy.
“There’s a very fine line between humour and tragedy, they work off each other nicely,” Bryan says. “I just think humour is important nowadays more than ever. I think that’s what the book does, or my writing or comedy; it reaches people in a way that’s accessible. They can identify with it.”