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Collection
Publication
Description
L. Jean F inics tells a riveting true story about what it was like growing up with a mother suffering from a sickness she did not understand; as a foster kid lost in a world where love and warmth were hard to find; and no one to believe she had the ability to beat the incredible odds stacked against her. The story opens in the 1970s when Jean is made a Dependent of the Court in California after her mother is hospitalized. Jean then bumps from foster home to foster home and, sometimes, back home again. Through it all, Jean remains deeply devoted to her mother and does all she can to protect her. Just before her 16th birthday, Jean decides she can't change her own fate while she's stuck in the foster care system. She runs away in hope of finding something "better"-but better is hard to find when you don't know what it looks like. At age 17, Jean has a daughter whose birth transforms her life. Vowing not to make the same mistakes as her mother, Jean embarks on a difficult journey to give herself and her daughter a better life by achieving the unexpected.… (more)