“Hope’s Boy The memoir” by Andrew Bridge Essay

Andrew Bridge’s memoir “Hope’s Boy” has been ranked as a leading bestseller by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and The Washington Post. It is a moving memoir that illustrates the flaws that exist in the U.S foster care system.

The Memoir explores a childhood filled with horrendous sagas which are hardly spoken by many openly. The story is intertwined to bring out what the young in foster homes undergo while growing up.

This paints an elaborate picture of the America’s society dark side. Bridge was transferred to a foster home after experiencing her Schizophrenic mother, “slit her wrists and paint his name with her blood” (NPR 2008).

By then, Bridge was only six years and, according to the circumstances, he was placed under foster care for the remaining part of the blossoming childhood.

Despite the woes he underwent and witnessed in the foster care, Bridge fueled childhood influence in the university. Currently, Bridge has become a fulltime lawyer who specializes on matters concerning the welfare of children.

The memoir “Hope’s Boy” portrays the childhood experiences of Bridge which depicts the U.S foster care as one which is adversely disoriented.

Bridge, who lives in Los Angeles, has continued to fight in the war to ensure that kids under foster care receive proper treatment and even have conduct with the social workers if they cannot get in touch with their biological parents (Bridge n.d). Personal experiences greatly influence the future career choice of individuals.

Personal background and atrocities can fuel the desire to pursue a certain career (Dietrich 1). For instance, Bridge is portrayed as a child from a poor family filled with devastating events.

For example, at the age of less than three years, his father and mother are jailed and, at the age of four, his father demands a separation (NPR 2008).

By the time Bridge was six, he was placed under foster care. Bridge having his childhood and parental love has vowed to fight for other children who undergo the same problems during their childhood.

This can be supported by the personal experience of Debbie Black, a parole officer, who notes that her family, experience and conflicts from within, shaped her career (Black 2008).

Having undergone divorce, living in the streets, and facing a difficult marriage, the experience is almost like Bridge’s. Although the life of Debbie was infringed when she was mature, the experience is the same as both face social injustices.

Bridge’s past has dictated the path to follow to ensure that no other child will have the same experience he had when he was young.

Anger and emotional feelings drive people to do what they think is right in their lives as a way of shadowing their past. For example, the childhood of Bridge is filled with anger and hatred for losing the only person who cared from him, his mother.

This is depicted on the title of his memoir “Hope’s Boy”. Hope is the name of his mother in which he has dedicated his work to, despite the fact that she was not there but was willing to raise him.

The anger of his childhood leads to the belief that there is a hope that the future can be better. This drives Bridge to study law with the hope he can represent other children who undergo the same childhood as he did.

Bridge’s career choice has prompted him to give back to the society what he lacked love when he was a child. From his memoir, Bridge believes that “we can best keep kids with their own families’ safe and together with the folks who know and love them best” (NPR 2008).

The belief that something can be done right is what fuels people to choose certain careers. For example, Bridge believed that the best love a child could receive is from family members.

He believes that children can be loved best if they lived with their parents or folks. For this reason, Bridge has been championing for the welfare of foster children to live with their parents or, at least, get to talk with the social workers allocated to them once a month (NPR 2008).

From a personal point of view, some people follow intuition in order to make sure that they can solve problems in life. In other words, they believe that they are the ‘saviors’ who can speak out on the behalf of other disadvantaged persons in the society.

To sum it up, personal past experiences contribute a lot to the choice of career path they choose to undertake, the way people have been raised, the life they have been exposed to, and the belief that one can change the world.

Emotions fueled by anger, drive people to take careers to ensure that other people are not exposed to the same atrocities or past they underwent.

This is portrayed in the Hope’s Boy memoir which shows how the past can fuel one to develop a career that addresses the problems in the society. The same is shared by Debbie Black who strives to help others.

Works Cited

Black, Debbie. 2008. Personal experiences influence career Choice for Debbie Black. 2008. Web.

Bridge, Andrew. Hope’s boy: A memoir. n.d. Web.

Dietrich, Cindy. “Decision making: Factors that influence decision making, heuristics used, and decision outcomes.” Student Pulse 2.2 (2010): 1-3. Print.

NPR. ‘Hope’s Boy’ a memoir of childhood in foster care. 2008. Web.