Despite whether or not some of these are fake, I personally have a respect for the story. I actually just ordered it online and have been wanting to read it for two years since the This American Life episode.
My big thing is that I would like to know more about Amanda and Stephanie, the daughters. Their exploits, more of how they felt about the whole thing. I'm an aspiring writer and this story has inspired my writing, it helps to delve into the emotion as well as helping to pull from my own
Debra did not answer in her book any question about why her daughters left. They left to get away from her! She is a Barbie Doll flat character who buys in to the Mad Ave version of reality. She has written about being tempted to slap a person with BO, not realizing that BO was invented by Mad Ave. to sell deodorant. Debra is cold and cruel to anyone not like her, and her sensibilities are shallow.
@99rejoyce B.O. wasn't invented by anyone. its our own natural scent. as tons of other creatures have. however, people did decide that B.O. smells bad. i agree with them. and teen rebellion comes from a lot of places. an average kid doesn't just leave because their mother is misunderstanding & oppressive. over 3/4ths of american mothers out there fit that criteria. but there are a ton more factors to consider beside the mother. she stated reasons through the whole book why they did what they did
this is a beautiful, tight, suspenseful story. We jump on the freight trains with the girls. The excruciation of feeling the filth, the hunger, the bugs and the cold are horror stories in their own right, It is a miracle that this family came through this intact. Anyone who is not liking thei r life might want to open up a copy of this harrowing tale and rejoice that they did not live through this
Haven't read the book; just listened to the This American Life segment (Didn't Ask to be Born - fyi) And though it was heartbreaking, illuminating, and difficult, the one thing I came away with was that this is one extraordinary family.
For two women (children, even) to go through that experience and come out of it successful, and a mother to endure all that she did while maintaining her family and for these people to reconcile is nothing more than amazing.
I also just finished the book. Wow. I don't know what the answer is to this type of teen rebellion. I sure hope I don't have to go through this saga with my daughter.
I just finished this book. I was truly moved by Debra Gwartney's ability to write so honestly about what is a truly heartbreaking tale of where the surge of adolescent energy takes so many young people in our culture.
Despite whether or not some of these are fake, I personally have a respect for the story. I actually just ordered it online and have been wanting to read it for two years since the This American Life episode.
My big thing is that I would like to know more about Amanda and Stephanie, the daughters. Their exploits, more of how they felt about the whole thing. I'm an aspiring writer and this story has inspired my writing, it helps to delve into the emotion as well as helping to pull from my own
byrummatt 7 months ago
Debra did not answer in her book any question about why her daughters left. They left to get away from her! She is a Barbie Doll flat character who buys in to the Mad Ave version of reality. She has written about being tempted to slap a person with BO, not realizing that BO was invented by Mad Ave. to sell deodorant. Debra is cold and cruel to anyone not like her, and her sensibilities are shallow.
99rejoyce 1 year ago
@99rejoyce B.O. wasn't invented by anyone. its our own natural scent. as tons of other creatures have. however, people did decide that B.O. smells bad. i agree with them. and teen rebellion comes from a lot of places. an average kid doesn't just leave because their mother is misunderstanding & oppressive. over 3/4ths of american mothers out there fit that criteria. but there are a ton more factors to consider beside the mother. she stated reasons through the whole book why they did what they did
okaytrees 1 year ago
All posts below are fabrications, probably written by Debra herself.
99rejoyce 1 year ago
So, what happened to Stephanie's dog when she went away? I really want to know.
EnglishTeacher1998 2 years ago
this is a beautiful, tight, suspenseful story. We jump on the freight trains with the girls. The excruciation of feeling the filth, the hunger, the bugs and the cold are horror stories in their own right, It is a miracle that this family came through this intact. Anyone who is not liking thei r life might want to open up a copy of this harrowing tale and rejoice that they did not live through this
mpsrnsmas 2 years ago
I loved the book- its so good. I hope the best for debra and the girls.
robinjeanmoore 2 years ago
Haven't read the book; just listened to the This American Life segment (Didn't Ask to be Born - fyi) And though it was heartbreaking, illuminating, and difficult, the one thing I came away with was that this is one extraordinary family.
For two women (children, even) to go through that experience and come out of it successful, and a mother to endure all that she did while maintaining her family and for these people to reconcile is nothing more than amazing.
These are strong, strong, people.
godw1thin 2 years ago
I also just finished the book. Wow. I don't know what the answer is to this type of teen rebellion. I sure hope I don't have to go through this saga with my daughter.
animalnannymom 3 years ago
I just finished this book. I was truly moved by Debra Gwartney's ability to write so honestly about what is a truly heartbreaking tale of where the surge of adolescent energy takes so many young people in our culture.
lily314 3 years ago