de Grummond Collection

Restrictions
Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright
The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials, other than that noted above.

Biographical Sketch
Hila Colman was born in New York City in 1909, the daughter of Harris and Sarah Crayder, a clothing designer and apparel manufacturer. Raised in an upper class Jewish family in Manhattan, she had all the benefits of a privileged upbringing. Although the family was well off, Hila and her sister were always expected to make their own way in the world. Hila attended Radcliff College for two years until the death of her mother forced her into the working world.

Her first job was at the National War Relief Agency, where she wrote and produced promotional materials. She was married to John Colman and had two sons before she hastily scribbled off what was to be her first published piece, "Can a Man Have a Career and a Family Too?" This story was accepted by the Saturday Evening Post in 1947, and Ms. Coleman continued writing for magazines including McCalls, Redbook, and Woman s Day. For several years she wrote for True Romance and True Confessions. These formulaic writings forced her to tell a story with believable characters and dialogue, an influence that would continue throughout her career.

Ms. Colman has written more than fifty books for young adults and several nonfiction books for adults, a few under the name of Theresa Crayder. In many of her writings for young adults, Colman has chosen themes that involve conflicts - between parents and children, among generations, economic classes and political viewpoints. She is noted for the realistic portrayals of her characters and her ability to capture the language of her young protagonists. Her characterizations are well rounded and her themes universal. Two of her books have been produced as ABC Afterschool Specials: "Unforgivable Secrets," adapted from Tell Me No Lies, was produced in 1982, and Sometimes I Don't Love My Mother, starring Patricia Elliot and Melinda Culea, was also produced the same year.

Ms. Colman passed away on May 15, 2008 in Bridgewater, Connecticut.

Sources:

• Something About the Author vol. 53, pp. 22 -31.

Scope and Content
The collection holds a galley proof, an edited typescript and correspondence for Sometimes I Don t Love My Mother. The correspondence includes an outline for the book and specific revisions suggested by the editor. Sometimes I Don't Love My Mother is an exploration of a troubled mother and daughter relationship. In this novel, seventeen year old Dallas must try to establish a new closeness with her mother after the sudden death of her beloved father. She must deal with her own grief and balance her growing independence with her mother's emotional breakdown.

Series and Subseries

A. Book (1977)

• SOMETIMES I DON'T LOVE MY MOTHER (1977)

Box Inventory

  Box/Folder 

A. Book

Sometimes I Don't Love My Mother by Hila Colman (New York: Morrow, 1977).

1/1        Photocopies of letters, outline, suggested revisions, 5 items. 
     
1/2-1/4    Typescript, edited,

1/2            pp. 1-56.
     
1/3            pp. 57- 107.   

1/4            pp. 108 - 160.

1/5        Galley, edited.