My Sasha Doll
The Doll That Survived My Childhood
Growing up in the 1960s, I had many dolls; but only one survived the full force of my childhood while being played with, tossed around various playrooms, and shoved under the bed. She survived multiple moves, more than anyone can count anymore. She even survived being taken over by a younger sister who played with her still more before shoving her aside yet again for the passions of adolescence.
Still my Sasha doll lives on. Still her skin is lustrous. Still her auburn hair flows smooth as silk. Her amber eyes hold secrets fast she will never tell.
She is my Sasha, a friend delivered by Santa in a year so long ago even the Jolly Old Elf himself cannot recall. I remember only that we lived in our Midway house. In a childhood marked by frequent moves, the years are marked by the houses where we lived, rarely more than a year or two. This time from age 6 to age 8, 1965 to 1967, we lived on Turner Street in Midway. During one of those years, my Sasha arrived to become my lifelong friend.
Photo: My Sasha doll as she appears today, 45 years old. Photo property of author. All rights reserved.
My Sasha Doll - From Loneliness to Longevity
This is a photo of my family at the time we lived in the Midway house, which is behind us. I am the oldest girl, and the two younger girls are my sisters. This is my family in 1967, right around the time my Sasha doll came to live with us.
Maybe one reason Sasha survived my childhood is because I did not play with her a lot. Although you could buy other outfits for her to wear, I did not own any. So she always wore her original brown dress.
She had all the wrong proportions to play with my other dolls. She did not work well with baby dolls, and she did not fit with Barbies at all. She was a giant compared to them.
Today she could probably hang out with American Girl dolls, but they did not exist in those days. So poor Sasha did not fit in. She was all alone. She had no friends. Only me.
So, Sasha became the one who understood my loneliness. She knew what it was like to be lonely and feel different. I felt this way a lot in childhood, due to frequent moves. I was the new girl every few years. The new girl stays "new" a long time. You have to be someplace a long time to "belong" and Sasha understood.
Yes, Sasha understood, but she could not make it better. So I felt ambivalent about her. On the one hand, she understood my pain, but on the other hand she represented a dark and sad part of my life. My grandmother called Sasha my sad doll, and it was an apt description because she became a repository for my sadness.
I would take her out when things were bad and I needed a friend who understood my isolation. She would listen attentively with her pensive, thoughtful expression. How I longed for her to turn into a real girl who would chase fireflies with me and whisper back her own painful secrets.
Eventually I would make some real life friends. Then I would put Sasha away until I needed her again. One day I put her away for good, and she somehow survived many more moves as I became a teenager, a young woman going away to college and graduate school, a career woman, a wife and mother. Then she reappeared to befriend my own daughters, neither of whom expressed any interest in dolls. So, now she has survived another generation.
It is probably the very fact that Sasha did not have a lot of accessories and things that would have made her fun that has been responsible for her longevity. She is dull, but beautiful and well-preserved. But, oh the secrets Sasha could tell!
Photo from Frischy's family album. All rights reserved.
Sasha-Puppen: Sasha Dolls
This is the book every Sasha collector will want! It is an art book by the creator of the Sasha doll, Sasha Morgenthaler.
Clothes for Your Sasha Doll
Does your Sasha need to add to her wardrobe? Here are a few items to dress her up!
My Daughters Inherit my Sasha Doll
When I became the mother of two beautiful daughters, my Sasha doll came out of hiding ready to befriend them. Each of my girls bore a resemblance to my Sasha doll, but neither of them has ever been interested in her. I guess this is a good thing, because now she is preserved for another generation.
Here is my daughter at age 11, looking remarkably like Sasha as she listens to a live jazz performance on a hot summer evening a few years ago. What do you think? Does she look like a Sasha doll?
Photo property of author. All rights reserved.
Do you think my daughter looks like a Sasha doll in this photo?
The Sasha Doll
If you are interested in the history of the Sasha Doll, this book may answer some of your questions.
Restoring My Sasha Doll
A funny thing happened when I took Sasha out again to work on this lens, I looked at her again and she no longer looks sad to me. Now she looks content.
You see, when Sasha Morgenthaler created the doll, she deliberately made the faces passive. The expression seems to change depending upon various factors, including the mood of the person viewing her. So, she reflects the mood of the one interacting with her. It is quite remarkable to see this doll in person and watch her countenance change.
So, while in childhood Sasha seemed sad and lonely, today when I see her she looks like a contented soul, with a little gleam in her eye. Quite astonishing, considering the way I have been treating her these past 40 years!
I decided Sasha deserves a makeover, a little spa treatment. So, I will be doing some research the next few days and getting ready to do a bit of restoration on the old gal.
Sasha and I invite you to come along as she gets the royal treatment she so richly deserves!
Photo property of author. All rights reserved.
Sasha Dolls Through the Years
This book is out of print and has limited availability. Click here to see if it is being sold by any Amazon sellers.
Patterns for Sasha Doll Clothes
Want to sew for your Sasha doll? This book has the patterns you need to make her a complete wardrobe!
More Sasha Doll Ephemera
Most of these items are out of print and have limited availability. Click to check if the item you want is being sold by an Amazon seller.
Sasha Dolls on eBay
Hauntingly beautiful Sasha dolls for sale on eBay. Each one is unique. No two are alike.
More Sasha Dolls for Sale on eBay
Find your own lifelong friend for sale on eBay!
Sasha Doll Gallery
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeSee More Beautiful Sasha Doll Photos
Would you like to see more photos of the lovely Sasha dolls? The following link will take you to a Flickr photo gallery with over 250 pictures people have taken of their Sasha dolls and posted on Flickr.
- Sasha Dolls Pool | Flickr
Photos people have taken of their Sasha dolls. You will also learn information about the dolls as you read the comments people have made about the photos. If you have a Sasha doll of your own, you will no doubt enjoy seeing these photos and reading
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