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Somebody's Someone – A Memoir by Regina Louise
Rating:
 PENS!!!!
A Child's Story
It is hard
to believe that this is a memoir. That a child could be treated with such
disregard and cruelty as Regina was.
This is Regina Louise's story of her life from ages 10-15. In these years,
Regina shifted from home to home, with a simple request that any child has –
to belong and be loved by someone. As the story opens, Regina is living in
Texas with a surrogate grandmother, Big Mama, whose house is full of other
people's children. In this house, Regina was abused by her "siblings" and
ignored by Big Mama. After one of the older children in the home beats Regina
at about age 11, she is sent on a bus ride alone to North Carolina to live
with her mother, Ruby.
Her time with Ruby seems hopeful, as Ruby is stable and working. But, as the
story progresses, and Regina's sister, Doretha comes to live with them, things
fall apart. Ruby's boyfriend, Mr. Benny begins making advances at the girls.
Doretha fights back and ends up fighting Ruby and getting put out, while
Regina sits quietly by, realizing that Ruby wouldn't believe her anyway, and
desperately wanting her mother's love and approval.
When Regina finally tells her mother of Mr. Benny's advances, Ruby sends
Regina to live in California with her father and his wife. Her time with her
father is unsuccessful, and she ends up in foster care, where she becomes
attached to one of the counselor's, Ms. Claire. To tell the details of what
occurs while Regina is in foster care, would give away several important
details and themes that emerge in this.
It was easy to suspend reality and to act like this was merely a story, rather
than a detailed account of a girl's life. The book is written in first person,
simple narrative form with broken English, as though you are reading out of
Regina's journal, or someone merely transcribed her words, spoken into a
mini-tape recorder. I often found myself hearing her voice as I read her
words. While I would recommend this book, it is not for the light-hearted
reader, looking for an uplifting story. Even as I finished this book, I was
still not sure if the story was complete. I guess I was looking for a nice,
tidy ending, where everything falls into place and all ends well. That
satisfaction was not realized until I found her website, and read a little bit
more about how she is now.
Tameshia
R.E.A.L. Reviewers
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