Just Another Kid by Torey Hayden

just another kid by torey hayden

I found this book inside a drawer on one of our dilapidated antique cabinets upon which we stow unrecognizable house 'stuff'. Stuff like part of a door knob, rusty wrench, a half blade of a scissor and tweezers(!!!). Atrocious? You bet! I don't even know why my Tita still keep these hideous things and bring instead those so-called 'house stuff' to a garage shop or a magbabakal (garbage/waste collector). I can't even begin to fathom the sentimentality behind it. 

Going back to the book, it was grimy all over. Leafing through it, the pages has that old, yellowish tone to it. Not even the plastic cover saved the book from dirt (as you can see from the photo above). Smudges of mud could also be seen on the cover and some pages on the book. It dawned on me that this book survived the typhoon Ondoy. Our place in Pasig City was one of those greatly impacted by that infamous typhoon, in which the raging flood reached the second floor of our house. My gaze from the book went down to the other clutter inside the drawer. What I saw dishearten me. I saw my CD copies of the newest King Kong movie by Peter Jackson and Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix in much worst state. Both casings and the CDs inside are covered with mud and rendered useless. I just sighed with utter helplessness.

I initially thought Just Another Kid by Torey Hayden was a novel. Not until I check the spine part of the book that its non-fiction. I was a bit hesitant to read it since the author is a child psychologist with a degree in Special Education, I might find the book too academic for me to appreciate. And I'm only looking for a breather-type of book after I read the gargantuan tome/apocalyptic-dark fantasy novel The Stand by Stephen King. However, after reading the praises printed on the book from The New York Times, Washington Post and Kirkus Reviews, I decided to give the book a try.

cover page

Torey Hayden's teaching assignment to six special children was supposed to be temporary, only just a few weeks until the school hired the rightful teacher who would handle the class. However, she became too attach to her class that her suppose few weeks stay extended to a full year. She also had a few altercations with Ladbrooke Taylor in the beginning, a parent to one of the children in her class, who eventually became her assistant to her "special" class. Ladbrooke, like the rest of the children Torey handles, also has her own bouts with emotional distress.

chapter page

I was hooked from the get-go with this book. The author wrote the book as one would scribe a novel, and Torey is such a masterful storyteller that you would absorb each and every scene, nuances and moods that she convey through the pages. However, as hooked as I am with this book, I also find it difficult to read. The difficulties that I had with the book stemmed from the stark reality it painted with the behaviors the kids exhibited, as well as Ladbrooke's. One kid hoots while he pleasures himself, one kid shows aggressiveness and sexual precociousness, another one suffers from elective mutism, one has severe autism and one kid showed signs of mild psychosis who inflicts harm on other children and, towards the end of the book, to herself. 

Ladbrooke suffered from inability to express herself to a stranger, have severely low self-esteem and would go into fits if placed in a crowd. In addition to her behavioral distress, she also has her alcoholism and crumbling marriage with Tom Considyne to deal with. Torey became like a mother to the kids and a friend/confidante to Ladbrooke.

just another kid (most recent edition)

This unflinching depiction on what really happens to emotionally disturb kids and how an adult who is emotionally withdrawn dealt with life made me pause numerous times on the course of reading this book. It was painful to picture in my mind the struggles each individual kids and Ladbrooke faces each day. Much so with Torey on how she dealt with all this, with her headstrong attitude and resiliency. The book was really heartfelt and full of melodrama that it might move you to tears. I got teary eyed in some of the scenes in this book.

A book that was supposed to be only a "breather", a pass-through before I move on to my intended novel to read turned out to be one of the most beautiful, most rewarding books that I've ever read to number it among my favorites. Right in the alley of Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer and Protect And Defend by Richard North Patterson. "Difficult" books to read in terms of intricate plotting and scope, yet after you finished it you'll be rewarded with an experience you'd never forget. This is book reading in the highest order. A word of caution though, since this is a non-fiction book, this is more introspective in nature than the regular fiction books. And most of the story's highlights centered around the classroom. But if you're a voracious reader, you would love this book as immensely as I did.

BLURBS:

"Just Another Kid is not just another book. This remarkable teacher's memoir reminds us that love takes many forms."  ~The New York Times

"Just Another Kid is an enchanting, inspiring book...impossible to put down."  ~The Washington Post

"Another fine account by Hayden...an invaluable model for parents of emotionally dysfunctioning children and for educators of all stripes."  ~Kirkus Reviews

After reading the book, I recommend that you read the updates on what happened to some of the kids and Ladbrooke on Torey Hayden's official site. Just click the link provided below.

http://www.torey-hayden.com/just_another_kid.htm