Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge

Andy Bridge and his mother Hope loved each other with a deep, abiding love, but she was so tormented in her mind that she was unable to care for her son. Andy was seven when she was institutionalized, and he was placed in foster care. Andy's memoir of his childhood experiences portrays his anguish, his despair in a forthright, honest manner. The reader empathizes with Andy, his mother, and his grandmother who struggled against poverty and lack of opportunities. Andy's life was difficult, but, because of his inner strength and resilience, he remained intact in spite of his troubles. Most foster-care children do not fare as well as Andy, but he was able to rise above his circumstances and earn a scholarship to Wesleyan for his undergraduate degree and to Harvard Law School for his professional training. He later became a Fulbright Scholar.

The book begins and ends at the Eufaula Adolescent Center in Alabama, site of a class action lawsuit centering on poor treatment of its residents. Newly-hired as a lawyer, Andy interviews Jeff, a teenager sequestered in a drafty basement for an infraction of the rules. Andy sees himself in Jeff and flashes back to his own experiences.

Andy's mother married Wade when she was seventeen and was arrested for bank fraud and sent to prison. Andy lived with his grandmother Katherine in Chicago until his mother asked him to come live with her in Los Angeles. Her tragic descent into mental illness was heartbreaking for her son, and he ended up in MacLaren Hall, a notorious public orphanage for foster children. When he became completely withdrawn, the county sent him to live with a foster family, the Leonards. Mr. Leonard was an electrical engineer, and his way of coping with Andy was benign neglect. His wife, a homemaker, had been in concentration camps in World War II. What started out as a temporary placement turned into a permanent one as Andy outlasted the other foster children that came and went. His childhood with the Leonards was achingly lonely, and he lived out a solitary existence on the fringes of the family.

The descriptions in this memoir are so vivid that the reader feels an affinity for Andy and his story. A page turner, this memoir is hard to put down and provides a moving portrait of a boy who refused to fail in life in spite of his circumstances. It includes an extensive list of organizations for current and former foster care children as well as discussion questions for book clubs. This book is a must read!

Reviewed by Susie Nightingale

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