Brainwashed by foster parents is a true story about a twelve-year old boy who is forced to live with foster parents, after his family was torn apart because of alcoholism, abuse, abandonment, and poverty. The book tells how a very fanatic religious family manipulated, coerced, and brainwashed a twelve-year old boy for four years. The foster parents brainwashed the young boy to join their church congregation and live according to their fanatic religious beliefs. It tells about the emotional events that leads to the boy rebelling and giving him the courage to finally leave his brainwashing foster family.
Assessment:
Idea/Concept: Tracey offers a potent condemnation of the systematic mistreatment of homeless and abandoned children. A well-presented exposure, this deplorable violation of a teenager’s rights to finish his high school education and graduate is a must-read for any professionals working in this still controversy-laden field.
Prose: Straightforward, yet often repetitious, the prose delivers a frank appraisal of a difficult childhood. Tracey's writing would benefit from greater stylistic polish as well as elaboration in areas where it lacks sufficient detail. The text is alternately scant and redundant, answering multiple questions, then creating new ones that remain unaddressed.
Originality: Stories of “placement” into artificial domestic environments are often--sadly--accounts of physical harm and psychological manipulation. This memoir is no exception, but Tracey writes with refreshing candor and authenticity.
Execution: Dismal, heartbreaking, and incredibly real, a man reflects on his tumultuous childhood and lonely adolescence with frank scrutiny. This revealing look at his past shines a spotlight on a farming community’s exploitative abuse of power and religious fanaticism.
Blurb: This candid memoir exposes the corrupt mismanagement of a boy’s life while in a foster home.
Date Submitted: October 31, 2019
