Hope's Boy

A Memoir

By: Andrew Bridge

Narrated by: David Drummond

When Andrew Bridge was seven years old, he and his mother - a mentally unstable woman who loved her child more than she could care for him - slid deeper and deeper into poverty, until they were reduced to scavenging for food in trash bins. Welfare officials did little more than threaten to take Andrew away, until a social worker arrived with a police escort and did just that while his mother screamed on the sidewalk. And so began Andrew's descent into the foster care system - "care" being a terrible irony, as he received almost none for the next 11 years.

Academic achievement was Andrew's ticket out of hell - a scholarship to Wesleyan University led to Harvard Law School and a Fulbright Scholarship. Now an accomplished adult, he has dedicated his life to working on behalf of the frightened children still lost in the system. Hope's Boy is his story, a story of endurance and the power of love and, most of all, of hope.

©2008 Andrew Bridge (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An inspiring account." ( Library Journal)
"Bridge...has provided remarkable insights into a dark corner of American society." ( Publishers Weekly)

Into the Mind of the Childcare System

Andrew Bridge delivers a heartfelt and personal narrative about his time as a slave to the foster care/childcare system.

As a young boy, Andy Bridge wasn't expected to go anywhere, amount to anything. Through a series of heart-wrenching and tear-welling moments, this novella sheds some light on the struggles of children confined to the foster care system as victims of child abuse, neglect and/or maltreatment.

Narrated excellently, written even better. Bridge is an excellent author who will humbly put things into perspective then break your heart in the same page. For those curious about the quality of life children from broken or mistreating homes experience, this book can give a shocking, but harsh and realistic, frame of reference.

I not only applaud Bridge for his writing, but his undeniable perseverance and his work with at-risk children. The man is a gentleman, scholar, but most importantly, one whose story should not be forgotten.

What a Story!

This is a sad and true story. It is fantastic that Andrew Bridge learned to live beyond his painful childhood and become an advocate for kids in foster care. The book is well worth the listen (or read)! Inspiring tale!

Heartstrings

I was assigned this book for service hours as a CASA representative. I had a hard time stopping listening. It pulled me in and I felt like my heart was breaking for Andy and all of the children like him. An amazing story!!

A memoir that reads like a Dickensian tale

A touching and page-turning story of separation and love. It remains a cautionary tale about the limitations of the state when it intervenes in the life of a child. Here is a necessary separation of child from his mentally ill mother, a young child alone in a prison-like facility, then in the custody of a disturbed foster mother. The exceptional boy overcomes the obstacles in his way but the trauma of separation remains.

Eye opening

Great story, really made me think about the volunteer work I do and how I can be better help to children in foster care.

American spilling his guts

Would you listen to Hope's Boy again? Why?

No. Too painful

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hope's Boy?

The Lamberts' incredible stone-like cruelty. Jason.

What does David Drummond bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

What?

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I must admit that after the first 45 minutes I was really taken in by the story.

Any additional comments?

Amazing that anyone who really experienced this kind of childhood would really be able to recount it in such detail. This is what I find so disturbing about Americans. How can this author describe all this in such detail and walk down the street the next day? Leads me to conclude that he is profiting off of his admittedly bad childhood in foster care. Difficult to believe the Lamberts were really that cold, calculating and cruel. Why didn't the grandmother in Chicago make a greater effort to claim him when the time came? Also, it seems that after becoming a big time successful lawyer,

Excellent read

Very well written, I have book an audible version , both excellent. Highly recommend, going onto his second book now.

Written like a biography - no real story or plot

This is written as a biographical documentary not what I expected from the write up. There is no story or plot just a recanting of a set of childhood experiences

Great Read

This book was fantastic and the end made it 100% better! Recommend it to anyone!

Moving example of strength.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Mental illness is not an easy disease to live with on any level.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hope's Boy?

The boy he went to visit in the first chapter.

Which character – as performed by David Drummond – was your favorite?

The grandmother.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The separation scene during her street episode

Any additional comments?

Admirable.