Hope in Patience

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

Hope in Patience. Fehlbaum, Beth. West Side Books, Lodi. ISBN: 978-1-934813-41-6

PLOT SUMMARY:

Fifteen-year-old Ashley has been sent to live with her dad by Child Protective Services. At the encouragement of her friend, Ashley tells a favorite teacher that she has been verbally, sexually abused, and raped by her step-father since the age of nine. Ashley’s mother and maternal grandparents call her a liar and a trouble-maker for telling the truth about what happened to her. Ashley has never known her real Dad. He left when Ashley was a baby. Now is her chance to begin a relationship with him and his wife Bev. Ashley now also has a younger brother Ben. Things are not easy for Ashley. She struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She is afraid of anything that may bring back the memories of what happened. Most of all, Ashley has to come to the realization that her mother will never love her the way that Ashley wants her to.

CRITICAL EVALUATION:

Before I read Hope in Patience, I was dreading it. I did not want to read a book about sexual abuse. Hope in Patience is not a story about sexual abuse. It is a story about the healing process. The book follows Ashley through her therapy sessions with Dr. Matt and her transition to a new town and family. Ashley has to move on from the fear that she has. She can no longer hide in the closet or armoire, and ‘check out’ of life when things get difficult. She is in the process of learning to deal with the fear, and not allowing it to rule her life Hope in Patience is not just about a town called Patience. It is about Ashley learning to “just wait”. She needs to think before she reacts to the situation she is in and remember this is her present and not her past. The abuse is hurtful to Ashley, but it seems that her mother’s reaction to the news of the abuse is worse. All Ashley wants is for her mom to be a mom; the right kind of mom. The type of woman that would chose her daughter over an abusive husband. Cheryl is afraid to be alone, that is why she cannot leave Charlie. But, what Cheryl does not understand is that she would not have been alone, she would have had Ashley. Unfortunately, Cheryl cannot see that. She is too selfish to realize that she has a daughter that needs her love and attention more than her husband does. Hope in Patience is a story of hope and healing. It is the story of a girl that is learning how to live life again.

READER’S ANNOTATION:

Ashley has suffered years of sexual abuse by her step-father. Now she has a chance to pick up the pieces, stop living in fear and start living again.

AUTHOR:

Beth Fehlbaum wrote her first book Courage in Patience as part of her therapy. Like the character of Ashley, she also suffered years of sexual abuse by her step-father. Many of the characters that Fehlbaum created were based on people in her life. Even though she used people and experiences from her life to inspire the characters and stories, the Patience books are fiction.

Fehlbaum married her high school sweetheart and they have three daughters. She did not seek counseling for the abuse until later in her life when she and her husband started having marital issues. Her husband had anger management issues and she suggested that he see a therapist. At the end of her husband’s therapy, Fehlbaum realized that she also needed therapy to help her cope with what happened in her past. She is currently a fifth grade teacher in East Texas and is in the midst of writing her third novel.

GENRE:

Fiction, Realistic

CURRICULUM TIES:

New York State: English, Health, Family and Consumer Sciences

BOOK TALKING IDEAS:

Sexual abuse
PTSD
Hope

READING LEVEL/INTEREST AGE:

Age 14 and up

CHALLENGE ISSUES:

Sexual abuse, language

In order to prepare yourself should this book be challenged you may wish to take the following steps:

•Read the book or familiarize yourself with the book and its contents.
•Refer to the library’s collection development policy.
•Read the book reviews from sources such as Booklist, School Library Journal, Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), Publisher’s Weekly, or BookSpot.com
•Seek the opinion of teen readers that have read the book.

Should this book be challenged you should follow the additional steps below:

•Advise the senior staff of the challenge.
•Let the patron know that their challenge will be filed and that senior library management will review their request and notify them once a decision has been made.
•Offer any further assistance should the patron have additional questions.

WHY DID I INCLUDE THIS BOOK?

It was required reading for the class