My Never Ending List

To know that everyone starts out as a freak according to Hayley, gives me great comfort. To know that we are all on the same playing field, no one better than another, we are all equals in life just passing through different stages, all freaks.

Looking through the eyes of Hayley Kincain, life is complicated.  If Hayley only had one wish, she would wish to have her father back; her father before he was broken.  Hayley sarcasm and honesty has landed her in detention enough her senior year that the authorities are keeping a close watch on her.  With Gracie at her side, Hayley just wants to get through this year and graduate. While others are concerned about their plans after graduation, Hayley just wants to get through another day.   Her father is reliving the war in his mind and without help, the war is winning.  The battles that her father fights are constant although his duty has been served and his purple heart has been pinned honorably.  The war is separating Hayley from her father as he hides behind his drinking, his depression, the mood swings, the blackouts and his denial.  Wanting her father to get help, he refuses to seek assist blaming these people for causing his suffering.     When some of his Army buddies arrive at the house, Hayley is afraid of the reaction her father might have considering his previous symptoms.  There is a war going on everywhere you look, someone needs to get help before there are more causalities.

The character of Hayley was played out so well. From her sarcastic tone to her ability to stand up for what she thought was right, she was a great.  She had me laughing out loud with her attitude as she was such a strong force and was not afraid to be heard.  Her father was a mess so she was left to pick up the pieces and she did a good job of doing that.  The story was great and the message was terrific. 

“A nurse sent us to an Activity Room. Whoever named it that had a sick sense of humor. Of the dozen residents there, only one seemed to have a pulse, a lady in a faded flowered dress pushing a walker so slowly it was hard to tell what direction she was moving in.”