A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Restraints

Adolescence is an awkward time for everyone. Going through it in fostercare only magnifies the awkwardness 10 fold. Mortifying moments put on full display for all the staff and residents in a group home are commonplace.

The Great Escape (Part 1)

Excerpt from Driftwood Book 1 Chapter 14: Tales of the Fallen. Age 14.
A violent altercation between the staff and residents at a group home leads to a story that perfectly depicts the complicated relationship between foster youth and the police.

The Great Escape (Part 2)

Excerpt from Driftwood Book 1 chapter 14: Tales from The Fallen. My friends and I were taken to the Fulton County Children’s Shelter “for our own protection” and ended up in more danger than we could have ever imagined.

Hillbilly Haven (Part 1)

Full Chapter from Driftwood Book 2. Age 16. After a massive oral and lung infection knocked me on my butt, a kind old lady took me to live with her daughter’s conservative (Quiverfull?) family in the North Georgia Mountains. This is that story.

Hillbilly Haven (Part 2)

Full Chapter from Driftwood Book 2. Age 16. A street kid from Atlanta moves in with a rural conservative family and adapts to life on a farm. A story that seems like it was taken right out of a Little House on the Prairie is a chapter from my real life.

Hillbilly Haven (Part 3)

Full Chapter from Driftwood Book 2. Age 16. The waters of a temporary arrangement get murky as I begin bonding with the members of a rural family who took me in.

Hillbilly Haven (Part 4)

Full Chapter from Driftwood Book 2. Age 16. The dynamics between me and the country family get further skewed when the mom– who agreed to take me in and help me get me back in foster care–shifts from boarder to caretaker as she gets me much needed medical attention

Hillbilly Haven (Part 5)

Full Chapter from Driftwood Book 2. Age 16. A driving lesson leads to a happy family moment that I’d only experienced vicariously through TV shows. The slow progress of the street kid falling in love with rural life was almost complete.

Hillbilly Haven (Part 6)

Full Chapter from Driftwood Book 2. Age 16. What’s the final piece of the puzzle needed for a teenage girl to go against her better judgement and start thinking the impossible is possible? A gorgeous teenage boy

Hillbilly Haven (Part 7)

Full Chapter from Driftwood Book 2. Age 16. Allowing yourself to dream of better can be dangerous for a street kid. The crash back down to reality is a painful one.