Winter
2002 VOL.58, NO.2 |
 ight years ago, Jamie appeared like a dark, ominous figure asking
to be taken in. His aunt, Marsha Recknagel, who teaches creative
writing at Rice University, knew that by letting this 16-year-old
into her house, he would destroy the bright life she had worked
so hard to build. She wanted to be a writer, and she enjoyed her
solitary hours as a single woman.But Jamie was her brother’s son, and Recknagel could not let her nephew walk away to become a street kid. Besides, deep down in her heart, she always knew that someday it would be her turn to try to save this wayward child. Jamie had a painful history: his half-crazy parents had physically and mentally abused him to an almost catatonic stage. Over a 10-year period, they had put him in 26 schools, a boarding school, two mental hospitals, and a group home. Recknagel opened the door and let him in. |
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©2002 Rice University