Three Little Words

The foster care system’s failure to protect Ashley, Luke, and children like them is evident throughout the book. One of the most obvious manifestations of this is the sheer number of times Ashley is moved throughout her early life. However, worse is the number of homes that are unsuitable or dangerous and abusive. Ashley and Luke are placed with Mrs. Moss, whose cruel, sadistic punishments scar numerous children. Multiple reports of abuse and subsequent investigations fail to expose Mrs. Moss’s behavior and after Ashley’s attempts to report the abuse, Ashley’s own caseworker, Mr. Ferris, even tells her, “‘Nobody likes a liar,’” (135) and insists, “‘The Mosses run one of our finest foster homes, and you were trying to ruin it for everyone’” (99). Before this, Ashley is placed with Mr. Potts, who is later arrested for pedophilia. Even more shocking is the revelation that there is “no evidence that any worker checked on me during the five months I was there, even though they were already investigating Mr. Potts for molestation” (275).

Once overcrowding or general neglect is included in this assessment, then it is clear that the majority of Ashley’s foster homes are unsuitable, and numerous workers are dangerously negligent. Despite publicity and a high-profile court case, a judge ultimately concludes that “the dependency court already protect[s] foster children” and “Florida’s laws ‘provide sufficient protection’ for children in state care” (277). Ashley, however, is committed to working to prevent further failings and to speaking out for children who “have no voice” (289). 

For much of her early life, Ashley places her hope and trust in only one person: her biological mother, Lorraine. Describing herself as “[n]aïve” (viii), she always trusts Lorraine, despite the number of times Lorraine lets her down, and pins all her hope on being able to one day live with her again. This makes it extremely hard for her to trust others or hope for any other resolution to her trauma. Lorraine exacerbates this by jealously insisting that “‘I’m your only mother’” (vii) and demanding of Ashley, “‘You’re not calling anyone else “Mama,” are you?’” (55). The number of times Ashley is moved to a foster home only to be moved on again also adds to her lack of trust and hope. She loses all faith even in the most caring foster families, believing that “the day [will] come when their hospitality [will] end suddenly” (125). In fact, she becomes so used to feeling hopeless that she begins trying to get herself removed from placements because it will “be easier if they [throw] me out before I really [want] to stay” (114). The Courters understand Ashley’s lack of trust and her refusal to let herself hope that this time will be different. When Ashley cannot understand her own refusal, Gay even explains it to her, telling her that “‘you resist my nurturing because all those other mothers—especially your birth mother—failed to care for you’” (217). This patience and understanding of Ashley’s issues around trust and hope finally allow her to lower her walls, trust the Courters, and hope for a happy life with them.