A Life Less Ordinary

A mother and a child. A love that transcends no bounds. To give up a child leaves a hole that nothing can fill. An empty abyss. In the heat of the moment, the mother is convinced that she is doing right by the child. Giving that child a life that they themselves will not be able to give. It hurts to leave, but they know deep down, that the sacrificing of their happiness for the child’s well-being is what is best. In the photograph Mother and child by Jerome Liebling, the mother stands, child in arms, before the steps. Before the steps of giving up the one piece of joy she has in her life. Holding a blank expression on her face, trying not to show any emotion as it would only make what she is about to do harder. She is tired, worn down by the weight of the world. Contemplating what she is about to do, although she knows it will not help.

“Suffering when you're young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and your soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. Fussing over children who cry only encouraged them, she told us.”(28) In the memoir, The Glass Castle (2005) , Jeannette Walls writes of her journey to becoming a renowned journalist in New York City, recounting the hardships she faced, such as extreme poverty and negligent parenting. Rose Mary, Jeannette’s mother and an aspiring artist, prides herself in her parenting methods, or lack thereof. Despite other mothers, who coddle their children, and want to protect them at all costs, Rose Mary has a different approach to parenthood. From her perspective, children should have the unrestricted ability

Some discoveries may be the result of significant experiences that one undergoes. In moving on from these experiences, the discoveries can be provoked and have the ability to open the eyes of individuals. Gwen Harwood’s “Father and Child” explores the growth and maturation of a child. Harwood shows the juxtaposition between innocence and maturity and the way that discovering this deepens the perception one has of the world. The

“When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy.” This beginning to the novel “Ellen Foster” by Kaye Gibbons, prepares readers to enter the world of one of the most influential and appealing young woman protagonists in modern fiction. Ellen Foster, the main character of the book by Gibbons, is, in my view, the most fascinating and remarkable character in the story. Readers are introduced to the narrator Ellen, a determined, yet mature and individualistic eleven-year-old, who lives in the South during the 1970s. She lives with an alcoholic father and a sick mother. Ellen must go through many hardships and face much trauma, when she foreshadows her mother’s death and the long journey in front of her by saying that a storm is coming- “I can smell the storm and see the air thick with the rain coming.” (p.7). Young Ellen must go through much more than the average child her age, but she knows that she will get her happy ending. After dealing with her abusive father and depressed mother, Ellen deserves to go to a happy family, one that will accept her with smiles on their faces and joy in their eyes. Even if it means jumping from foster home to foster home, from a cruel grandmother to a condescending aunt and cousin, Ellen will find the people that will love her, even if it means first having to go to those who don’t.

    Humans have come to a conclusion that all lives are different, but all go through many hardships and tragedies. The impact from a slight difference can vary to be very vast to very small, such a slight difference, however, can change a person’s life as a whole. In the book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore there is a difference that can be identified between the author’s life and that of the other Wes. This difference, though can be very critical and is ultimately able to lead to a path of triumph or failure for an individual. The lack of involvement a mother has for their child can fundamentally deprive them from succeeding, and parent involvement has the opportunity to

In this novel Taylor is a dynamic character, we see her transform from a young girl who didn’t want to get married or have kids to an independent single mother. In the beginning we get to know her as a self-owned, determined and a stubborn girl who is focused, ambitious and thinks outside the box; because she knows firsthand what is like to see her mother struggle as a single parent. She learned to value every day because pregnancy was like a disease. An example of her considerate outlook is “believe me in those days the girls were dropping by the wayside like seeds off a poppy seed bun and you learned to look at every day as a prize” (3). This small but

Among violence against women and gender inequality, death is a constant factor that runs through the whole story this culture is surrounded by it every day and even when there is drought death is expected, but infant mortality is a constant battle. There are multiple occasions where infants die, mainly because of what they are being fed and how they are treated. It is understood that Monique’s baby’s health is declining throughout the story. The main cause of children

Sandra Maria Esteves shows what a healthy living condition for a child should be like. She goes on to list the roles of a mother and the experiences a child gets to live through while bonding with the mother. It is a

Vol. 1 tells in-depth stories on the thoughts and events from her childhood to adulthood and how she constantly thought about her father not being consistent and not being available throughout her life. Pondering everyday wondering on why she thinks of her father so much? Why

In The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, the author Gabrielle Zevin uses a variety of tough questions to showcase memorable moments in AJ’s life. The author provides the reader with distinctive scenarios in order to illustrate these significant life changing events. AJ makes the decision to take care of a child for a weekend before the Department of Family and Children are scheduled to take her to an adoption center. AJ hesitates at first, but then minimizes the hardship it will cause. Before he meets Maya, his friend Lambaise asks him, “Do you know anything about child care” (Zevin 52). AJ has had no experience with taking care of a baby and is terrified at the great responsibility. The use of the author

Randa Jarrar’s A Map of Home is a classic coming of age story in which readers watch a young girl grow into young adulthood. The protagonist Nidali navigates all the challenges a young woman can face while growing up; moving from place to place, family dramas, sexual awakenings, and the search for self-discovery. One challenge that will be discussed at length throughout this essay is Nidali’s struggle to grapple with the changing relationships within her family, predominantly her mother. In chapter three of the book, Fairuza brings home a new baby- a used baby grand piano. By bringing home a new adopted sibling for Nidali, Nidali’s mother introduces a significant

The bond between a mother and child is often spoken of as being unlike any other. Yet there are always exceptions to the rule where this connection isn 't as impenetrable as one might assume. This book is an example of this bond gradually becoming weaker over time. It shows how it affects the child, Bone, and leaves her vulnerable to the abuse of her step-father. Bone’s mother, Anney, had fallen in love with a man who abused her which at first, she’s unaware but eventually comes to realize but still chooses to stay with him. Throughout the book there are instances of Anney’s negligence in recognizing her daughter’s abuse and being of aid to her but wasn 't. In having to deal with her

While providing a comfortable life it also gives a status for the individual in a society. The notable Bengali writer Mahaswetha Devi’s short story ‘Breast – Giver’ revolves round the life of Jashoda, a poor Brahmin woman. Her husband Kangalicharan has lost his leg at an accident and subsequent gross negligence on the part of a member of the rich Haldar family. Jashoda acts as a wet nurse for the new-born children of the Haldar family just to earn livelihood for her invalid husband, her own children and for herself. Her breast, which is a gift of nature and a source of nourishment, thus comes as a commodity, a saleable item. Finally, Jashoda develops a lump on her breast which is diagnosed as breast – cancer. Even the surgeon is shocked to know that in her life Jashoda has breast-fed over fifty children, she dies a painful death, thrown off both by the Haldar family and her own

There are memoirs about overcoming the death of a parent, childhood abuse, rape, drug addiction, miscarriage, alcoholism, hustling, gangbanging, near-death injuries, drug dealing, prostitution, or homelessness. Cupcake Brown survived all these things before she'd even turned twenty. And that's when things got interesting.... You have in your hands the strange, heart-wrenching, and exhilarating tale of a woman named Cupcake. It begins as the story of a girl orphaned twice over, once by the death of her mother and then again by a child welfare system that separated her from her stepfather and put her into the hands of an epically sadistic foster parent. But there comes a point in her preteen years--maybe it's the night she first tries to run

Do you think it is possible to live a happy and simple life? It is more than certainly possible to live a life of bliss, even in a world with today’s chaotic means. You do not need to be rich in order to live a luxurious life, you could be the poorest person in the world but also the happiest. Social media is also a very big aspect for humanity when it comes to happiness.