allow us to see our futures because we wouldn’t have the courage to face all that trouble and heartbreak if we saw it all at once—but I don’t think that’s true. The thing is, I know a secret that you’re just beginning to learn, and this secret isn’t just important for your dream of becoming a writer, it’s also critical to your survival. So I’m going to give you a little peek into the days ahead.
It starts with that litter of puppies. They’re three days old, and their mother is dead. Everyone says you should drown them because they’re going to die anyway without a mama dog to feed them. That’s what they say. You’re thirteen, but you gave up listening to what people said years ago. You’ve learned to think for yourself. You don’t trust adults.
Your mom left when you were six. She fell in love with a man who didn’t want kids, and she chose him over you and your brothers and sister. You haven’t seen or heard from her since you were seven.
Your dad is an amazing storyteller—very charismatic. He can convince anyone that he’s completely, totally sane. He doesn’t tell them about the “voice” that tells him when to quit each job he gets, when to sleep, when to eat, and when it’s safe to walk down the street.
You’ve had it with death and loss and craziness. You decide you’re not going to kill the innocent little puppies. Not going to let it happen. And that’s a good choice, teen self. You’ll save them all, and name the one you keep Shadrach (after they boy in the Bible who came through a fiery furnace and lived to tell about it). He’s a yellow mutt with a black muzzle, and he’ll repay you a thousand, thousand times for saving his life.
Before Shad’s a year old, the “voice” will tell your dad to stop talking to you. You’ll have to make all your own decisions from that moment on, and you’ll make some bad ones. You’ll drop out of high school after your freshman year. Really bad choice. And because you’re not in school, no one will notice when you disappear.
The “voice” says the world is going to end and demands that the family get off the grid before it does. You’ll spend the rest of your teen years moving from one hiding place to another. You’ll live in shacks and abandoned houses. And you will be so, so isolated (i.e., you’ll have absolutely no human contact outside of your immediate family). Your dad still refuses to speak to you. It’s only because of Shad that your heart doesn’t wither and die. You’ll love Shad, and he’ll love you, no matter what.
Listen: As soon as your brothers are old enough to look after themselves, you need to get out of there. Things are different for girls in your family. Run. Wherever you wind up going, it will be good to have Shad with you.
And when you eventually meet your mother—try to understand that she is as broken as your dad. It wasn’t anything you did or said when you were seven that made her leave.
The fact is, we can’t know what the future holds, because it doesn’t exist yet —it doesn’t exist until we create it. No matter where you start, and no matter where you are today, you can dream a new tomorrow. Your parents can’t stop you. You can create it through the choices you make (like the choice to save a puppy). If you have no adult to trust as a child, choose to become an adult that children can trust.
Kersten Hamilton is the author of Tyger Tyger (2010) and In the Forests of the Night (2011), both published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She set about creating her future when she was thirteen years old, and Kersten managed to make more good decisions than bad decisions along the way. She’s still dreaming a new and wonderful future into existence.
GOING ALL THE WAY
Bethany Hegedus
Dear Teen Me,
You stare at the neon green light on your bedside digital clock. In a few more minutes, you’ll let Drew go—like, all the way . You’ve made up your mind. That’s why you’re here in the
It starts with that litter of puppies. They’re three days old, and their mother is dead. Everyone says you should drown them because they’re going to die anyway without a mama dog to feed them. That’s what they say. You’re thirteen, but you gave up listening to what people said years ago. You’ve learned to think for yourself. You don’t trust adults.
Your mom left when you were six. She fell in love with a man who didn’t want kids, and she chose him over you and your brothers and sister. You haven’t seen or heard from her since you were seven.
Your dad is an amazing storyteller—very charismatic. He can convince anyone that he’s completely, totally sane. He doesn’t tell them about the “voice” that tells him when to quit each job he gets, when to sleep, when to eat, and when it’s safe to walk down the street.
You’ve had it with death and loss and craziness. You decide you’re not going to kill the innocent little puppies. Not going to let it happen. And that’s a good choice, teen self. You’ll save them all, and name the one you keep Shadrach (after they boy in the Bible who came through a fiery furnace and lived to tell about it). He’s a yellow mutt with a black muzzle, and he’ll repay you a thousand, thousand times for saving his life.
Before Shad’s a year old, the “voice” will tell your dad to stop talking to you. You’ll have to make all your own decisions from that moment on, and you’ll make some bad ones. You’ll drop out of high school after your freshman year. Really bad choice. And because you’re not in school, no one will notice when you disappear.
The “voice” says the world is going to end and demands that the family get off the grid before it does. You’ll spend the rest of your teen years moving from one hiding place to another. You’ll live in shacks and abandoned houses. And you will be so, so isolated (i.e., you’ll have absolutely no human contact outside of your immediate family). Your dad still refuses to speak to you. It’s only because of Shad that your heart doesn’t wither and die. You’ll love Shad, and he’ll love you, no matter what.
Listen: As soon as your brothers are old enough to look after themselves, you need to get out of there. Things are different for girls in your family. Run. Wherever you wind up going, it will be good to have Shad with you.
And when you eventually meet your mother—try to understand that she is as broken as your dad. It wasn’t anything you did or said when you were seven that made her leave.
The fact is, we can’t know what the future holds, because it doesn’t exist yet —it doesn’t exist until we create it. No matter where you start, and no matter where you are today, you can dream a new tomorrow. Your parents can’t stop you. You can create it through the choices you make (like the choice to save a puppy). If you have no adult to trust as a child, choose to become an adult that children can trust.
Kersten Hamilton is the author of Tyger Tyger (2010) and In the Forests of the Night (2011), both published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She set about creating her future when she was thirteen years old, and Kersten managed to make more good decisions than bad decisions along the way. She’s still dreaming a new and wonderful future into existence.
GOING ALL THE WAY
Bethany Hegedus
Dear Teen Me,
You stare at the neon green light on your bedside digital clock. In a few more minutes, you’ll let Drew go—like, all the way . You’ve made up your mind. That’s why you’re here in the
Similar Books
