SOON. Soon, soon, soon… the little four letter word that shaped young Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s life. After being taken from her mother before reaching the age of four, Ashley and her infant brother Luke bounced from foster home to foster home. Having more than a dozen “mothers” in her life Ashley struggles to find herself amidst the discombobulated life of strangers.
In Ashley’s memoir Three Little Words she describes the time she spent in the foster care system. While a few of her caregivers genuinely cared for her, the majority of them were straight out of a nightmare. One cannot help but admire her for having such strength and determination through such a horrid ordeal.
This memoir isn’t just a heart wrenching read but it is also important in pointing out both the strengths and weaknesses of the foster care system. Ashley herself experienced the bullying of her care takers as did many of the foster children she lived with. Foster care is an important social issue and this text really brings it to light in a very personal way.
Although Three Little Words covers a life that many of us are fortunate enough to have not experienced, the emotions and thought processes of Ashley will strike a cord with every reader. This memoir would be a great read for students both in junior high as well as high school. In addition to encouraging students to write about their own past experiences it can also be tied into a discussion on current social issues and possible solutions. Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s memoir is truly a must read.
1 comment:
Great Review Heather! I really think it would be interesting to hear first hand what a foster child truly goes through. I think that by reading this book more people could have an understanding of the struggles that these children go through on a daily basis. Although probably at times hard to read what is happening to Ashley in the system, I still would like to read this book after reading your review because I think that the Foster System is something that needs to be looked at by our government because it is clearly not doing what is is intended. Great review!
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