A Memoir of Five Abandoned Children
My mother and her four siblings had an unusual childhood growing up under the care of DePelchin Faith Home in Houston, Texas. They were in and out of foster homes and their parents’ homes. At best it could be called “difficult.” At worst, “abusive.” None of it can be fixed with a few words on pages but it can be spoken out loud that this was not good and the loss they suffered was profound. I feel privileged to have been allowed into their lives, to shed some tears, and to have an education in the pain of selfish wrongs inflicted on innocent children.
This is a grieving book. I (and you, if you’d like) grieve the losses the children were never allowed to grieve or even mention. The loss of the family unit, protection, and innocence were their experience when their childhood should have included deep love in the context of family. I wonder who they would have been without all that they endured. I wonder. I cannot possibly plumb the depths of their pain nor express how remarkable their childhood was. And it was as remarkable as it was painful.
Finally, I should probably mention something about the writing style. I guess I’ll call it ADHD-memoir style. As I was writing, I thought I really should be more organized, but my mind is not organized in the normal way. I do believe that comes straight from my delightful Momma. Her mind flitted around in the loveliest of ways. My siblings and I could always change the subject, and she flew like a bird with us.
So, I ask you to hang on while my mind flies to multiple places, past and present, through the chaotic foster system of the 1940’s and 50’, to a short visit to a Chilean orphanage and on an occasional fast forward to 21st century foster care with our precious Little Girl. Buckle up for a roller coaster ride through chaos, the world many foster children still live in today.