Visiting Grandma
by
Debra Stang.
Growing
up is never easy. For Danny Bowman, growing up is not only that but also a
day to day battle just to survive ' physically and psychologically.
Whilst coming to accept his own 'gay'
sexuality, thirteen-years-old Danny also struggles to come to terms with the
knowledge his beloved grandmother, the only adult giving him any sense of
security in his short life, is becoming lost to him through Alzheimer's.
From having a grandmother who gave him love and self-worth, Danny must
painfully grapple with the awareness that their relationship equates now
only to 'the long goodbye.'
But Danny grapples not only with the lost
of his grandmother. The current boyfriend of Danny's abusive and neglectful
mother first builds up Danny's trust before betraying him. At just thirteen,
Danny is manipulated out of his depths into a sexual relationship of control
and physical abuse; already spiraling down the road to self-destruction, the
relationship forced upon Danny cuts one more thread of his fragile desire to
live.
Wanting to know Danny's story, I couldn't
put this book down once I started reading. With a compelling narrative, this
brave, important and commendable work is worthy of being on the shelves of
all High School libraries.
Tautly written in first person with well
developed characters, Debra Stang powerfully etches a story conveying a
powerful message. No matter how grim life is, don't ever give up hope for a
better tomorrow. Finding courage in his darkest moments to trust and reach
out, Danny discovered life is worth taking that chance.
Debra Stang is a freelance writer and
medical social worker. She earned her master's degree at the
University of Kansas in 1996. Her background is in crisis
intervention, but she is is currently working with people
who have Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Debra's first young adult novel, Visiting Grandma,
 which tells
the story of a gay teenager facing sexual abuse, has
recently been published through Booklocker.com, Inc. She is
currently at work on another young adult novel, Second
Chances about an angry teenager coming to terms with his
father's homosexuality.
A single lesbian, Debra is passionately interested in
issues that affect LBGTQ (lesbian, bisexual, gay,
transgendered, and questioning) people. As anyone who reads
her work quickly guesses, Debra is also an outspoken
proponent of children's rights--especially the right to be
free from abuse in its many hideous forms.
During the fifteen-or-so minutes a day when she's not
working, Debra enjoys reading, surfing the net, and playing
with her three extremely spoiled cats.
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