San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Delving into her family’s hidden struggles
In ‘Crossing Fifty-one,’ Debbie Russell explores secrets found in a box of old letters
An undated photo of author Debbie Russell’s family, including her grandfather, Dr. Ralph Russell, at bottom left.
Finding a dusty box of family letters inspired Debbie Russell, a lawyer turned author, to write “Crossing Fiftyone: Not Quite a Memoir.”
Her grandparents, Dr. Ralph Russell, and his wife, Ruth, worked and raised a family in Point Loma.
“I remember first being stunned by the discovery, especially since no one in the family had ever mentioned them,” replied the San Diego native. “When my dad went into hospice, they helped me talk to him about his family and experiences during that time.
“I was born in San Diego, and we moved to Wisconsin in 1968 when I was 3 (years old) — presumably because my mother wanted to be close to her family. When we came back to visit in 1983, I immediately fell in love with the city — especially Point Loma — where some of the family still lives. Recently, I’ve been able to visit the house where my dad, grandparents and the rest of the family lived. It’s been an amazing experience!”
Russell’s book recounts her grandfather’s 1951 voluntary admission to a narcotics treatment facility. Then, 65 years later, it dives into her sense of identity when her father, Ralph Jr., enters hospice.
Debbie Russell spent 25 years as an assistant county attorney in Minnesota prosecuting high-profile cases. She’s now writing full time, restoring her property to native lands and training her dogs.
Q : Who was Dr. Ralph Russell, and what was the narcotic farm?
A: Dr. Russell, my grandfather, was a successful San Diego surgeon who, by late 1951, was abusing Demerol and other narcotics as a means to manage his asthma. He read an article about the two narcotic farms which, by that time, had achieved reputations as the epicenters of addiction research and treatment. I believe he entered the Fort Worth program because he’d exhausted all other options and knew he needed help.
Q : Was your grandfather an unconventional patient there?
A: The facility was primarily for young convicts who were on probation for a federal drug offense. Papa was neither young nor a convict. He entered voluntarily and could have left anytime he wished, but he successfully completed the four-month program. The letters reveal him to have been a student of his own experience, and he was allowed to serve on the facility’s medical staff — also quite unconventional.
Q : How did reading your grandmother’s letters force you to look at your family dynamics from a different perspective?
A: Nana was the true caretaker of the family, with my dad — the oldest child — providing moral support from afar. Nana seemed so calm and steady, two things my mother was not. I searched the letters for glimpses of how she really felt and only found a line here or there that might reveal her true mental and emotional state. In contrast, we all walked on eggshells around my mom, and from a very early age she trained me to look after her emotional needs.
Q : How did your career as a criminal prosecutor help you uncover the facts and write this memoir?
A: So much of building a criminal case is through investigation and research, and I loved those aspects of my job. I started doing research on narcotic farms in 2017, and it’s been fascinating. Also, being familiar with drug crimes helped me to question my dad in a sensitive way that would ultimately get me as close as possible to the truth about what happened to him.
Q : What do you hope readers will take away from your family’s story?
A: I believe all family stories have value, even if they carry the weight of shame. Forgiveness and understanding are important parts of healing. I grew up with barriers erected by my mother, and it affected my relationship with her, as well as my perspective of the greater world. To that end, shame can be alleviated just by sharing our stories with others. My family story is not that different from so many others.
Q : Please talk about your property being restored to native prairie and training your retrievers.
A: They’ve both been tremendous learning experiences. The prior owner loved to mow, and the property looked like a golf course when I first moved in. I was horrified! Over the past five years, much of what used to be short grass now bursts with food for birds and pollinators. I’ve learned about what works and what doesn’t — and that’s the same type of learning I’ve engaged in with training my dogs for agility and retriever tests.