The art and essays in HideAways speak of comforting places where time was suspended, observation was key, and invisibility gave us the freedom for flights of imagination. The book is sorted into chapters echoing the shapes of the spaces described and each is introduced with quotes by notable women relating to their own furtive childhood experiences. What is clear throughout HideAways is that feeling hidden and safe remains one of the deepest memories of childhood. Sometimes secret, always private, these spaces remain anchored in imagination that each person can mentally return to over time.
The Places
Hiding places were often tied to the freedom of summers away from parental eyes or were prompted by family moves to new terrain: sharpening perceptions of what was recognizable from what was new. Time itself could be untied from clocks and noticed quietly in the changing growth of plants and the shift from daylight to dusk.
Many women describe the beginnings of an intimate relationship with nature that led to a lifetime of care for the environment. Some found refuge in trees, perched high and observant while happily unreachable. Trees and forests offered a friend who was steadfast, with living, breathing strength rocked only by the wind.
The same desire for vantage points led others to scramble up to rooftops and mountain peaks, to be held aloft or seek an expansive vast sky.
Other girls craved a crawl space with hugging contours. Included in HideAways are memories of sanctuaries in dense thickets near the ground, rejoicing in blades of grass, carpets of moss and the colorful curve of flowers. Nesting in leafy bowers with entryways, corridors, finding safety in camouflage.
Some childhood memories in HideAways are immersed in water in its various forms: streams with flickering light, pools with layers of depth, and the sea with its tidal rush and retreat. Water is treasured for its healing embrace, how it holds you while floating, stroking, or running over you.
Many essays in HideAways speak to role models that are thoughtful and creative and brave. Some were found in the pages of books or in films that offer up the many ways a person can be. Stories that led to finding solace in creation without the rattle of external judgment. There is rejoicing in making miniature tableaus, acting out scenarios, drawing, and playing instruments—and singing without fear. And there are several memories of relief, hiding from cruelty and distress, which involved careful escape and strength of imagination. When fears lingered in the dark, there are tales of looking deeply into the shadows and learning what to trust.