In the Care of Strangers

In three previous books, through a selection of prose poems, the author shared bits and pieces of a life, one comprised of complete abandonment by a mother and the disconnected roles played by extended family members, a life that eventually led to being placed in foster care. Now, for the first time, with In the Care of Strangers, he tells the entire story of what such a life was actually like. In this five-part memoir, dependent on the seven deadly sins, the author tries to reconstruct a painful journey of coming of age under the literal care of strangers and the individuals that made up the foster homes and hospitals that would help to shape a young man's life, certainly a difficult life, riddled with abuse from the start (Malice) and ending with greed and envy in a fourth and final home. He finds and develops pride in himself while recuperating from a paralysis. How this young man attempts to survive the experiences of foster care while also having to contend with a disability, and still managing to try to simply achieve graduation from high school, with a goal toward college, is a testament to a human spirit beyond measure. This riveting story, told through an innocent, almost childlike voice of a boy shocked into care, then as an older man who has come to terms with his situation (The Unclaimed), and finally through the poetry, should be taken as an inspiration for many.