Torey Hayden - Just Another Kid Victoria Lynn Hayden, known as Torey L. Hayden (born May 21, 1951 in Livingston, Montana) is a child psychologist, special education teacher, university lecturer and writer of non-fiction books based on her real-life experiences with teaching and counselling children with special needs.Subjects covered in her books include autism, Tourette syndrome, sexual abuse, fetal alcohol syndrome, and elective mutism (now called selective mutism), her specialty Torey Hayden's book "Just Another Kid" is not just another book. Though each page turns on the mysteries of emotional disturbance, sex, alcoholism, violence and crime of all dimensions, the reader emerges from the experience convinced the world can be loving, caring, warm and orderly. The diagnostic labels on the six children in this story - elective mutism, schizophrenia, autism, mental retardation - hardly suggest the repugnance of these little people, who will not speak, who move their bowels at random, who hoot and masturbate on chair legs. Yet, we become intensely involved in how and when they will be transformed. And if the six small boys and girls are not enough, a disordered parent arrives on the scene. She is Ladbrooke, mother of autistic Leslie, formidably elegant, seductive, bristling with beauty, but also alcoholic, promiscuous and speechlessly hostile.The core of this story is Ladbrooke's and Torey's developing friendship, reminding us that love takes many forms. Ladbrooke wants to be "just another kid" in the class. The colloquial title signals the moral of this book: life is most fully realized while relating to and engaging others. And this remarkable teacher's memoir convinces the reader that one of the most demanding jobs in education, a task not long ago dismissed as hopeless, may be richly and creatively rewarding. Torey didn't set out to write about Ladbrooke in JUST ANOTHER KID. She only intended to write about the children and include Ladbrooke only in her capacity as aide in the classroom. But as the book progressed, Torey was surprised to find it had become Ladbrooke's story. Alarmed that her publishers might not like this deviation from the synopsis they'd purchased, she mailed the 250-page uncompleted manuscript in a panic to her editor over Christmas that year to find out if she should proceed. Fortunately, everyone liked the "story that wrote itself".
è un libro inusuale per questa autrice. infatti narra le vicende di 6 bambini ma anche le vicenda della mamma di una di queste bambine. durante la lettura incontriamo:Mariana, che di suo se si esclude una famiglia disastrata alle spalle e un precoce approccio sessuale è quella con meno problemi.Dirkie ha l'ossessione per i capelli lunghi e per i gatti, e come Mariana presenta un precoce approccio sessuale.Leslie non è autosufficiente. è autistica e ha enormi problemi sia fisici che mentali e grandi problemi famigliari.Geraldine e Shemona sono due sorelle dell'irlanda del nord ospitate dagli zii in seguito alla morte di entrambi i genitori in seguito ad attacchi terroristici. inizialmente si presentano come due sorelle molto affiatate, Shemona non parla e Geraldine sembra fare da tramite fra lei e il mondo, ma la realtà è ben diversa.Shamie è il cugino delle due sorelle, stessa storia tranne che non è orfano, ma ha subito minacce in irlanda ed è stato mandato in un posto sicuto (gli zii), non è molto sveglio, ma ha principalmente solo problemi di inserimento.fino a qui i bambini ma stranamente il titolo non si riferisce a nessuno di loro. si riferisce alla mamma di Leslie. è lei che diventa la protagonista del libro. donna con grandissimi problemi irrisolti (il fratello di è suicidato, la mamma era un'alcolista), poco socievole, non riesce a stare con altre persone, non sopporta il contatto fisico, è alcolista e deve badare alla figlia autistica. il marito non è di aiuto perchè incolpa lei dei problemi della bambina. lentamente ma inesorabilmente siamo testimoni della rinascita di questa donna che riesce a mettere in piedi la sua vita grazie al sotegno dell'autrice, con cui collabora diventando volontaria per la stessa classe in cui è inserita la figlia.non riesco a dire di più, la storia è da leggere, è una storia viva, in cui si notano le debolezze dei personaggi, nessuno è un super eroe, semplicemente l'autrice ha dalla sua parte la sua esperienza e le sue conoscenze, ma allo stesso tempo deve usare l'amore, l'affetto e l'amicizia per riuscire a far stare in equilibrio esigenze diverse e necessità diverse presenti una classe così variegata. detta così sembra una trama banale ma le sfaccettature dei personaggi, le difficoltà che incontrano e che incontra lei per entrare in comunicazione con loro sono poi la reale storia da leggere.
What do You think about Just Another Kid (1989)?
This novel was very different from Hayden's others. This story centers more on her relationship with a parent who becomes an aide in the classroom. Ladbrooke, the parent/aide, has hidden demons of her own. She feeds off Torey Hayden in same fashion as the children. Ladbrooke repeats through the novel that she is "just another kid" in the classroom. I liked this novel because it demonstrates how abused/neglected children function as adults when they do not receive help. I also liked it because it offered another side of Torey Hayden. I'm use to her friendships with other teachers and children, but Ladbrooke presented another look at the bonds Hayden creates. I do not think this was Hayden's best novel, mostly because I did not fall in love with any of the characters. With that being said, I was addicted to it and cared about all the characters.
—Ashley
One teacher, with the power of 10 therapists. Torey Hayden isn't just another teacher she helps the most troubled kids with life, helping them and their families reconstruct. In this book, there re 6 kids, and one adult. 3 who are coming from Ireland filled with terrorized war, and the kids are traumatized. Dirkie who is in a mental institution for pretty much his whole life, Mariana who is only 7 and yet sexually precocious. Leslie who never talked or even responded to anything Torey said. I can make a text to text connection. In Twilight Children, also by Torey Hayden, she helps 3 kids with life, and learning the basic steps to be a "special" child. Still she helps them and cares for them as if they were hers. I loved this book. 5 Stars, I hope to read the other books in her "series" Somebody else's kids, ghost girl and Murphy's boy. She is an amazing writer and I love her books to death.
—Lisa
I truly trruly enjoyed this book and partially for the element that it wasn't just about Torey's work with the children but this time with a woman older than her that really needed her. It was nice to see the interaction between the 2 adults. The ending of the book was satisfying if not a little sad to learn of how things turned out for one of the children. It was a great book that I had a hard time putting down and as with all of her other books I felt like I got to know them all personally and the ending brought a sense of sadness to me. But as with all of the books I think I could tell you about each child without a problem they are the kind of children that you have a hard time forgetting they are extraordinary and I think these books these stories are a reminder that kids are amazing they are resilient and they so deserve to be treasured no matter what.
—Alecia Burrows
