Freaks

The stories in Betty Superman are true, except when they're not. They're based on Tiff Holland’s relationship with her mother, a story arc all its own, only Betty isn't her mother and Holland’s not the narrator, not completely. Over the course of the chapbook, both Betty and the narrator suffer from serious illnesses. One of them is recovering; one of them is not. Consequently, they’ve ended up spending more time together. They have "adventures," as Betty calls them, and really talk for probably the first time in their lives. They inexplicably find themselves in Betty’s red PT Cruiser driving around to Walgreen's and Cracker Barrel, selling gold for cash, and pumping gas. In unsentimental and percussive prose, Holland examines Betty as character, dragon lady, mother, and reluctant superhero.