A couple of months ago as I was driving to Des Moines, I caught an interview with an author on a talk show. I missed the start of the show so wasn’t sure exactly who was being interviewed or the name of the book and of course, I lost the station right before it ended when that information was probably repeated. All I could remember was that it was about a couple of teen-age sisters who ran away and lived on the streets for several years and was written by their mother. I wanted to read the book.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I got a monthly newsletter from the library that featured the book. It’s titled “Live Through This” and was written by Debra Gwartney.
I doubt that I could have read the book when my daughters were in their teen years because I probably would have been scared that some of my less-than-spectacular parenting would send them off in the direction that these sisters, Amanda and Stephanie, took.
I read it with equal parts of trying to understand the anguish a mother feels when her daughters are living on the streets versus wanting at times to shake her into reality and suggest some tough love. I had to remind myself that until you’ve walked in the shoes of another person, it’s hard to know exactly what I would do in that situation and fortunately, I never had to deal with situations such as Debra encountered. In addition to these 2 daughters, she also was trying to work full time, deal with an ex-husband 5 states away and raise 2 younger daughters – all without a support system readily available.
I applaud Debra, Amanda and Stephanie for going public with their experiences. Being willing to share shows the maturity they have each achieved and the healing that has taken place. The book is a brutal and sometimes painful memoir but one I heartily recommend.
