Thoughts On ... Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Sometimes I am reminded by how entirely unfair the world is to children, and how little protection the law actually provides to them. During her childhood, much happens to Rhodes-Courter as she is transferred from well-meaning relatives, foster care, a juvenile home, adoption, and beyond. Loquacious, whip-smart, and brave, Rhodes-Carter at first believes that her mother will reclaim her. At all points, people claim to help and care for her, with mixed results. Some, like the guardian ad litem who fights to get her out of legal limbo, are heroes, Other adults are downright Dickensian. Even Dave Thomas makes an appearance, and he seems alright. Many other people, like the mediocre social worker who deposits her at the most abusive home, remind me of people I'd rather forget. What I find remarkable about three little words is the honesty with which the author reveals the fears and doubts that underlined her wary interactions. Her story does not end when she is adopted (the happily-ever-after long promised), but also shows her transition into a new family, her pervasive fears of rejection (and the mistakes that result), and her later meetings with her mother. While her story offers many keen indictments of a system attempting to put the child's best interest first, I see it as a story whose key turning actions have a much negative space, a story about missing people, and the things people fail to do, and fail to say. This book attempts to fill that space with a voice that lingers long after the last page.