All We Know of Heaven

All We Know of Heaven is about friendship and family. I started reading it yesterday and I’m over half done. This novel is, again, not the type I usually read but it got me hooked from page one I continued reading to simply find out what happened!

Bridget Flannery and Maureen O’ Malley are the best of friends. They never go anywhere without each over and they love each other like sisters. They are so similar that people can rarely tell the difference between them; same hair, same eyes, same height, same everything. While coming home from a cheerleading competition one snowy and slippery Christmas Eve, they get into a fatal head-on collision with a semi. The passenger is thrown from the window but still breathing and the driver is dead instantly. The damage to the bodies is so severe that the paramedics simply guess who is who.

For two months they THOUGHT Bridget was in a coma and Maureen was resting in peace. But when Bridget wakes up she starts saying weird things. Because of the brain damage it’s hard to tell what she is trying to get across but one nurse swears she’s saying “I’m Maureen”. Have they made a horrible mistake?

You have to see this story from both sides. This could be a miracle for one family and hell for the other. Could you imagine thinking your daughter had a fighting chance then finding out she’s been dead for months and is buried in someone else’s grave? But on the other hand, for Maureen’s family it’s like their daughter is back from the dead.

One line that Bridget’s mother, Kitt Flannery, said kind of described how she felt when she found out. She said ‘How could God play such a cruel joke?’ Both families are very religious so to the O’Malley’s it feels like God gave them a gift but for the Flannery’s, their faith is tested.
I’ve only experienced one death in my life so I can’t really relate to this story but it still gives me an excellent view on how both families are feeling and how Maureen in feeling. For example, the O’Malley’s are more than grateful their daughter is alive but the doctors are certain there will be quite a bit of brain damage and Maury will never be the same as the girl they raised. The whole family has to cope with that plus they are struggling with the hospital bills. The families used to be really close but now part of The Flannery’s hate the O’Malley’s, which of course is understandable because their baby had to die well the O’Malley’s got to live. Secretly Kitt is a tiny bit grateful because she sees how Maureen’s family is struggling and is partially grateful her daughter is at rest. The girl’s friends don’t know whether to be happy or sad. Their one friend is alive but the other is gone forever. One girl describes it as ‘Living through the death all over again’.

I have absolutely no idea how I would feel in this situation. I’m trying to put myself in the friend’s shoes and it feels almost unbearable. Would I be happy or sad? I love my friends equally and the choice is impossible to make.

Inspiration

I have not read anything since I finished The Lost Boy because I’ve been really busy. But I had some more things to say about The Lost Boy so I guess I’ll write about that.

I always knew I wanted a career in mental health care so I attended a health career expo last week and everything I learned got me thinking about what happened to David Pelzer. I then knew I wanted to work with children. I asked a social worker at the expo about the demand for workers in adoption agencies. He explained that they weren’t very high and it would be extremely hard to get a good job in one.

That night I finished The Lost Boy and I had made my choice. I wanted to work with foster children. These jobs are always in demand because of the stereotypes people believe against foster children (i.e. they are not wanted because they are bad kids. Which we know is not true from Dave). These kids need someone they can rely on and know that they will always be there for them. I want to be that person.

If Dave Pelzer could help me make a huge decision like this, I imagine he has helped many more with his story. Thanks Dave :)

The Lost Boy concluded

Well I finished The Lost Boy the other night and it wasn’t quite as interesting as the first book but it was still a good read. I think this is mostly just because it’s a subject that I find very interesting but also don’t know much about. The fact that it’s a real story really helped me get into the book too.

This one wasn’t as much about child abuse as it was about the life of a foster child. I never really thought about it much so I definitely didn’t realize how judgmental people are about foster children! They just assume that the child’s parents don’t want the kid because they’re bad but in this book probably more than half the foster children Dave meets aren’t bad at all but simply not wanted. Obviously this part made me really upset and curious as to why some people aren’t more open minded. However The Lost Boy had parts that made up for some of the bad things. Dave goes through five foster families and every single one is so excepting of him.

Sometimes in between foster homes Dave had nowhere to go besides “The Hill” which is a juvenile detention centre for children who misbehave too much but Dave had to go there just because there was such a shortage of foster homes. I did some research on why this is and I guess the people who actually have the heart to be a foster parent simply can’t afford it or don’t have the time.

But you don’t necessarily have to open a foster home to help children. Go to this website: http://plancanada.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=265&gclid=CNftmOKsp6ACFWV75QodJWHXbQ and you’ll see what I mean. After reading this book and going through Dave’s horrid childhood with him, this website really gave me hope that people are trying to help.

The book ended with another flash forward just like the first book so of course I know that he eventually has a very happy life with his son, Stephan (named after his father I assume). But I am EXTREMELY curious about what happened to Stephan’s mother. I wonder if she maybe abused Stephan too and Dave rescued him? Well I guess I’ll just have to read A Man Called Dave to find out.