Reading Gerald Hughes’ memoir, TED AND I, a look back at his growing up in Yorkshire, England with younger brother Ted Hughes, one is gifted with a sense of fondness and sincere empathy for the world in which the Hughes family lived. The early years, which start in the mid-1920s, don’t stray far from the typical childhood; in fact, one will find oneself nostalgic for that certain time and place. However, Gerald does a wonderful job illustrating precisely what being a child in the Depression era was like. Still, TED AND I is neither bleak nor sad, but rather idyllic. It’s a mood that strikes well, and not only gives fine insight into life in the 1920s onward, but also describes the roots --- the nature and outdoors life in Yorkshire --- that later shaped Ted and his poetry.

"TED AND I is a short but sweet and moving memoir written with the heart of a brother who truly loved his family and took pride in his upbringing."

As described here, there is a great sense of unity despite the economic hardships. Reading these stories is like reading through great fiction (the best stories are often the real ones), and our relationship with them is one where we remember our own childhood despite the difference in time and environment (some things, like a great slay ride, never change). The various model boats the Hughes brothers made using materials from a downed plane nearby, and the hunting that helped provide for their family during the Depression, all steer towards unity within this era in which everyone pitched in and nothing was wasted. People worked with their hands, and it was a time when family, church and hard work especially were valued. But no one had to lose their childhood as a result of it.

TED AND I is a memoir told with simplicity and the keen sensitivity of a brother who stayed in close contact with his sibling through their lifetime. Even the wars years, when Gerald worked as an airplane mechanic, did not prevent them from keeping in touch --- with Ted sending Gerald an early copy of the poem “Pike,” which was inspired by fishing on the Crookhill Estate at Cambridge and shows early development into the genius that Ted’s poetry would grow into. Even when Gerald lived in Australia (we also get a great story here about Gerald visiting the great painter Hans Heysen in the backwoods of South Australia), the two continued communication, with Ted urging Gerald to pursue their dream of owning a farm together.

However, the true circumstances behind the relationship of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath is somewhat thin. As the outside observer, Gerald speaks candidly about how he never got to meet Sylvia, but from his correspondence described their relationship as loving. He does his best to describe Ted’s mindset following Sylvia’s suicide, stating that it haunted him and ultimately left him in a fragile state. But further insight into the relationship between Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath --- how they shaped each other’s poetry, the ins and outs of their relationship --- is left out within the memoir. Not that Gerald does not describe who the two were on the surface --- what we get mostly is a brief time and place of their relationship.

It’s easy to see how the outdoors influenced Ted’ poetry. Gerald even takes the step to include a list of poems in the back of the book and where directly in Yorkshire the influence came from. Ted died before his brother and sister, Olwyn, but the amount of work he left behind is vast and beautiful. TED AND I is a short but sweet and moving memoir written with the heart of a brother who truly loved his family and took pride in his upbringing.