Sheila: Luka Hati Seorang Gadis Kecil (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
The first thing I want to tell you is how much this book made me cry. Buckets full. Maybe even enough to fill an ocean. Ugly cry, even. Unashamed, let-it-all-out, bawling. That’s how much. I’m not even exaggerating. This is significant, because tearjerker movies get me to cry often, but in contrast, only a handful of books have managed to dissolve me into tears. With One Child, I cried often, and I cried long and hard. It’s not only Sheila’s circumstances that made me cry, but also because I was so grateful that there is a teacher who cared enough to save this little girl whom everyone had given up on. Let me share a little about Sheila. She is a six-year-old girl who committed a terrible crime. It wasn’t her first crime, but it was probably her worst. At the age of six she had already had run ins with the police three times, and after her last crime the courts had decided that she should be placed in a state institution for mentally disturbed patients. Unfortunately for the state, but fortunately for Sheila, there wasn’t space available to accommodate her in the local state institution, and she was placed in a classroom for handicapped, abused, and mentally disturbed children. The teacher for that classroom at the time was Miss Torey (the author of this book). According to state regulations, Torey could only accommodate eight children in her classroom due to the severity of their conditions. Yet, she had no choice but to accept problem-child Sheila into her classroom.When I say Sheila is a problem-child, I don’t mean it lightly. The things she does is incredibly shocking, but here I also want to mention that she is no ordinary child. She has an IQ of over 170. Obviously, until Sheila has landed in Torey’s classroom, no-one has figured it out yet because Sheila is such a difficult child who goes out of her way to make herself unlovable. She lives in poverty with her alcoholic, ex-convict father, in a one-room shack in a migrant camp. You might wonder where Sheila’s mother is, and I can only tell you that that is another heartbreaking part of Sheila’s life. No acceptable excuse can be made for what Sheila’s mother did to her. It’s just too appalling. Anyway, the entire story centers around Miss Torey and Sheila forming an unbreakable bond and how they changed each others’ lives, and also how it changed Sheila. This little girl who never cries and who only knows rejection, abuse, and abandonment, has to learn to love, be accepted, deal with her anger, and adjust to normal society - what is socially acceptable, and what is not. Often I found myself smiling about how Sheila perceives the world and her surroundings, and how she tries to make sense of her life. The other kids in the same classroom also crept into my heart. So many times did I go “aaawwwhhh” because of something or other that Sheila, Torey or any of the other kids did or say, and then the tears would start all over again.I’ve read many abuse stories, whether it’s written in books or news articles, but never have I been as shocked as when I read what Sheila’s uncle did to her. You think you’ve heard it all with regard to the extent of human depravity, and then you read something like that... The story has a good ending, but not, in my opinion, a satisfying one. I desperately wanted a different ending for Sheila at home. I didn’t agree with the welfare system’s opinion of Sheila’s home life. I appreciated every single effort Torey made to improve Sheila’s life and I am grateful that there are teachers who really care about their students. One Child is a book worth reading, albeit not an easy one because it plays havoc with your emotions. Whether this really happened or not, it is a reminder that the world is filled with people who have no limits to the cruelties they bestow on defenseless little children (and animals, for that matter). At the same time it also showcases that, once in a while, a gem such as Torey comes along who dedicates her time and all of herself to protecting, loving, and making a difference in the lives of little ones who can’t fend for themselves. As much as I want to recommend this book to everyone, I also have to issue a warning that it contains content of a disturbing nature. Sheila’s story needed to be told and I’m grateful to Ms Hayden for sharing it with us. However, read it at own risk (such as crying buckets of tears and having your heart break into tiny little pieces over and over again).
Kisah tentang Sheila ini cukup mengenaskan dan mengharukan. Saat membaca kisahnya, saya dapat merasakan sedihnya, sakitnya, saya bahkan merasa menyayangi dia, walaupun dia tidak berada di dekat saya. Dia hanya seorang gadis kecil. Sayangnya , seorang gadis kecil ini pernah mengalami segala hal buruk yang mungkin dialami orang dewasa, mulai dari ditinggalkan orang yang disayangi, ditelantarkan, dijauhi, dihina, bahkan yang paling parah, dia pernah mengalami tindak pelecehan dan penganiayaan seksual yang dilakukan oleh pamannya sendiri. Namun dia kuat dan bertahan serta tidak ingin orang lain tahu bahwa dia terluka.Saya menyukai buku ini, karena semata-mata ini bukan kisah Cinderela yang semua berakhir “Happily ever after”. Ini bukan kisah di mana peran utama selalu mendapat apa yang mereka inginkan. Ini merupakan sebuah kisah nyata tentang seberapa kerasnya hidup di dunia nyata. Bagaimana kita menanggapi seorang anak kecil dengan pertanyaan-pertanyaan ingin tahunya yang besar. Bagaimana kita memberi tanggapan yang benar pada mereka, bukan membohongi mereka dengan hal-hal yang kita tahu sendiri bahwa itu tidak nyata. Karena kadang-kadang seorang anak kecil bisa lebih peka daripada kita.Pada akhirnya semua berjalan dengan benar, pamannya ditahan. Sheila mulai belajar untuk menjadi anak yang kuat. Pengadilan tidak jadi menahan Sheila, berkat pertolongan Chad, kekasih Torey. Berita buruknya, Torey akan pindah sekolah, kelas mereka harus ditutup karena kekurangan dana. Sulit sekali untuk menjelaskan pada Sheila bahwa hidup akan terus berjalan dan persahabatan mereka tidak akan habis hanya karena Torey pindah ke luar kota. Berat sekali bagi Torey untuk berpisah dari Sheila, tetapi kehidupan harus terus berjalan. Kisah yang manis ini ditutup dengan surat yang manis dari Sheila untuk Torey. Torey menerimanya setahun sebelum menulis buku ini. Selembar kertas bekas diremas dan terkena noda air yang ditulisi dengan spidol biru. Begini bunyinya:"Untuk Torey dengan penuh “Cinta”Mereka semua berdatanganMereka mencoba membuatku tertawaMereka mengajakku bermainSebagian bermain untuk bersenang-senang dansebagian untuk dikenangDan kemudian mereka pergiMeninggalkan aku di tengah reruntuhan permainanTanpa tahu yang mana harus dikenang danYang mana untuk sekadar bersenang-senang danMeninggalkan akuk dengan gema dariTawa yang bukan milikkuLalu datanglah kauDengan caramu yang lucuTidak seperti orang lainDan kau membuatku menangis tersedu-sedanDan tampaknya kau tidak perduli meski aku menangisKau bilang permainan sudah selesaiDan menungguSampai seluruh air mataku berubah menjadiKebahagiaan."Torey mengagumi Sheila. Dan untuk puisi indah dari seorang gadis se-spesial Sheila, Torey menyimpan puisi ini baik-baik di suatu sudut kantornya. Bagaimana saya tahu? Berikut ungkapan torey saat dia menuliskan sedikit testimoninya di halaman ketiga:"Untuk Sheila R. Tentu saja,Berkali-kali aku ditanya tentang puisi di dinding kantorku.Sungguh wajar kalau mereka ingin mengenal gadis cilik yang menulisnya.Sedangkan aku-aku hanya berharap bisa memiliki separuh saja dari kehebatanmu sebagai penulis."www.devitareadsbooks.blogspot.com
What do You think about Sheila: Luka Hati Seorang Gadis Kecil (2003)?
This is a very intense story, which deals with the attempts of a maverick teacher, Torey Hayden (the author), to rescue a class of human refused children and make their life "liveable" : Some of this children live with such haunted nightmares in their heads that every move is fought with unknown terror. Some live with such violence and perversity that it cannot be captured in words. Some live without the dignity accorded to animals. Some live without love. Some live without hope. Yet they endure. And for the most part they accept, not knowing any other way.I wasn’t aware how much we marginalized and make this poor children suffering, but fortunately they aren’t forget by kind souls, who give them all their love and understanding, because “ being crazy isn’t bad. It’s just different, that’s all.. In the book we have the blossom of this deep relationship between Torey and this hostile child, Sheila, who after having endured so miserable things( she was abandoned by her mother, her father is a drunk and her uncle rapes her), finally finds someone to hold her and talk to her and cuddle her, like she always should have had.
—Alexandra Bradan
I remember reading this story as a child and being engrossed in it. It's reminiscent of "A child called It" because of its extreme depiction of a child in severe abuse and neglect.Reading again as an adult and as an educator who works with at risk children I was horrified. The story is a memoir written by a special ed teacher. She clearly wants to be praised and lauded for her amazing breakthrough with Sheila but all I could think was that Sheila needed to be put into foster care. She was clearly being abused and neglected, there many warning signs such as the lack of hygiene, her rages, hell the visit to her home. I was baffled as to why Sheila did not seem to be getting any sort of psychological evaluation for hurting the little boy. Even Torey said she didn't want to ask.Worst was when Sheila was sexually assaulted and much is made of how brave Sheila was and how she was so strong...but there was no mention of her getting therapy or being removed from her family's home. At the end it's considered a triumph that she cried because she was remembering her trauma. It wasn't a triumph. It was a sign that she was hurting was going to have a lot of pain to work through.I have not read the equal but apparently in it Torey tracks Sheila down because her book has been a success and readers were clamoring for a sequel, not because she actually wanted to see how Sheila was doing. And worse she seemed upset that Sheila was mad at her instead of grateful. I don't blame Sheila at all for being mad at Torey for failing to do the right thing as a mandatory reporter and as a human being.
—Msjess
Bacalah buku ini disaat kamu gundah. Saat pacarmu membatalkan janji kencan disaat-saat terakhir, saat ibumu di rumah sedang gencar-gencarnya marah-marah, saat pekerjaan kamu di kantor terasa begitu menekan, saat kamu merasa dunia tak lagi bersahabat dengan kamu. Baca buku ini, dan kamu akan tahu.Tahu rasanya bersyukur kamu tidak mengalami kehidupan seperti Sheila, atau anak-anak lainnya di kelas Torey.Tahu rasanya bersyukur bahwa apa yang kamu hadapi kali ini adalah permasalahan hidup yang sepele. Bukan seperti menangani pribadi-pribadi rumit yang harus ditangani Torey setiap hari.Tahu bahwa sebuah buku bisa membalikkan seluruh perasaan gundahmu dan membuatmu menjadi seseorang yang bersyukur dengan hidupmu yang menurutmu lagi semrawut, jelas ini bukan buku yang biasa-biasa saja.Bacalah buku ini, dan kamu akan mensyukuri hidupmu.Sheila akan selalu mengingatkanmu bahwa kamu memiliki kehidupan yang tidak pernah ia dapatkan.Dan dia akan mengingatkan kamu, berapa banyak kerugian yang akan kamu dapatkan jika kamu menyia-nyiakan hidupmu ini.Kehidupan yang kalau bisa, lebih baik diberikan saja padanya. Tidak, bukan diberikan. Dikaruniakan. Karena bagi Sheila, setiap hari adalah berjuang.Berjuang untuk memahami bagaimana bentuk kasih sayang yang sesungguhnya.Berjuang untuk menerima bahwa, iya, itu menyakitkan, mengetahui bahwa ibunya membuangnya sejak kecil. Dan trauma itu tidak pernah bisa hilang.Ia mengendap, mengubah wujud menjadi sesuatu yang lain. Kenangan yang meracuni pikiran.Bacalah buku ini, kemudian lihatlah sekelilingmu. Ada banyak Sheila-sheila lain yang mungkin menangis dalam diam.Jika kamu bisa menjadi Torey bagi mereka, lakukanlah sesuatu.Bukankah itu yang Torey inginkan saat dia membagi kisah mengenai Sheila?
—Farah
