My new novel, A Life Without Consequences, will be released this fall. I ran away from my abusive father when I was thirteen and it was the best decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a year before the state took custody of me and placed me in a group home. Over the next four years I would live in several different homes ranging from a hundred children to less than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on time and with honors.
Group homes are a strange place to grow up in.
There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven o'clock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would take turns doing the dishes and preparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities.