In her memoir, author Janice Erlbaum take the reader inside her halfway-homeless adolescence on the streets, shelters, squats, and apartments of 1980's New York City. She is candid, unapologetic, and speaks with nary a trace of...
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In her memoir, author Janice Erlbaum take the reader inside her halfway-homeless adolescence on the streets, shelters, squats, and apartments of 1980's New York City. She is candid, unapologetic, and speaks with nary a trace of self-pity. She first ended up in a shelter at age 15 when she carried out her ultimatum to her mom--if mom took back her abusive, manipulative, unemployed, baby-shaking husband, Janice was going to walk out. Janice's childhood to date consisted of a revolving door of boyfriends for mom, losers who would be kicked out and taken back again and again, shifting Janice's role from trusted confidante to sullen, rebellious child at each turn. Janice, now an accomplished professional writer, relates her story from the perspective of a teenager. She worries about wearing the right clothes to night clubs. She is in a constant tug-of-war with her two best friends, and their relationship suffers all the petty jealousies and misunderstandings of young adulthood. She seeks escapes via alcohol and the hot street drugs of the mid eighties. Not surprisingly, she confuses sex and love, constantly looking for a protective male figure to latch on to. One striking moment is Janice's identification with Preppie Murder victim Jennifer Levin. Janice reveals the side of the 1980's club kids that the headlines missed. She could identify with trying to fit into the scene, trying to snag the handsome, older scenester (who happens to be a murderer), and to having a moment of drug-fueled lust under a tree in the middle of the night. Janice's revelations make Jennifer Levin seem both less and angelic than the media would like, and far more human as a young girl driven by an overwhelming desire for acceptance and social status. Janice Erlbaum has gripping subject material, but she is also an excellent storyteller. Don't miss out on learning about a halfway homeless young adulthood from this talented writer. Comment | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)
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