Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time

I like reading about when the underdog wins. This is exactly how I would describe Carissa's story. Carissa had a lot of odds stacked aganist her but in the end she came out on top and is now a successful attorney and motivational speaker. Of course, the path to get where Carissa is now was not easy. To be honest, Carissa did not help the situation any by running away as much as she did. The situations where Carissa was used by men, I don't blame her for. She was only twelve. A time when young girls should be thinking about makeup and preparing for their teen years. Instead Carissa was hanging out with pimps, crack heads, and selling her body for sex. Of course, during those times, the men took advantage of Carissa and even threatened her with guns.

I thought when Carissa went to talk to the boys correctional facility and the one boy asked Carissa if she had forgiven her mother for dropping her off, that this was a really good question. I was suprised when Carissa said that no one had asked her that question yet. I honesty do not blame Carissa for her response that she can't and does not know if she will be able to. Your mother is suppose to have your back and love you and support you. Instead, Carissa's mother had her new husband's back and did not want to rock the boat of a good thing she had. Seeing Carisa's point of view, I could see why she ran away but it is still hard to read what she had to endure. I am glad that she met the right people who helped her get her life straight. This was really Carissa's story and Larkin Warren just helped to put it into words.

Check out the film by David Sauvage on Carissa.