Rejecting My Role Model
I was a daddy’s girl. In elementary school, whenever someone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, “I want to be like my dad.” He worked hard, and he was my role model. He didn’t tell me or my siblings about his childhood. Growing up, my aunt, my dad’s younger […]
Read MoreBook Review: Spilling the Greasy Beans on Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver dedicates her novel Demon Copperhead to survivors of the opioid crisis and foster care. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the book is dedicated to someone like me: I am an Appalachian who was put in foster care due, in part, to my father’s opioid addiction. Reading the novel, I felt […]
Read MoreFinding and Trusting the Right Therapist
Names have been changed. My father sexually abused me as a child and, a few days shy of my 13th birthday, I entered foster care. When detectives were first assigned to my case, I had to explain the what, when, where, who, and how of the assaults over and over. I felt like I was […]
Read MoreWriting Contest Winners Spring 2023
Four times a year, we ask our readers to write about the impact recent stories have had on teens around the country. In spring 2023, we had a range of responses from writers connecting to stories about family, addiction, generational trauma, and finding one’s voice. Congratulations to our winners and be sure to apply for our […]
Read More