VBT# Wave to Papa - Erin Lee

 

Review: Wave to Papa - Erin Lee - September 2015

Every day children as young as infants are found in situations which have been initiated by abuse and neglectfulness , either by a parent/ caregiver or parent's boyfriend. Someone that should instead of hurting them, be loving them and often there is a pattern that evolves where most likely - these people have had other children that have suffered and evidently been taken off them and put into protective care from the CYPS systems.  Wave to Papa features a family which contains of Dawn (Mother) , Dan (Father) and Noah (Baby). Currently Dan has been charged for injuring Noah and Dawn for neglect - even though she wasn't at home when the injury occurred as this is the second time Noah has been injured by a so-called accident. Each time Dawn has stood by protecting Dan and telling herself and everyone else around that it was purely an accident, but what if this time it wasn't ? Will Dawn finally stand up for herself and go for what's right for her children or will she once again take her husband Dan's side until this happens again with Noah ? As who knows next time it might be too late ? We read as Dawn has two other children - Ann and Ruby who live elsewhere - Ruby is autistic and lives with her father and Ann is living in foster care as Ann reported that her father sexually abused her and her stepfather was violent. When Dawn's world starts to fall down around her , is this what she needs to see the light and finally realise what is best for her family ? Can she with the support of her mother Rose , finally gain the courage to do what is right and in the process get her family back ?

In a way Wave to Papa was a book that hit close to home as I have seen two sides of this system - the side where it doesn't protect all the time kids in abusive families etc , and the side where they take kids away from the family members due to the lies of one of them even when their is a mountain of evidence which says the other family members are trustworthy and would have been willing to do anything to keep the children in the family.

I believe that the system is great and needs to be put in place, but they really do need to find a balance on what is right/wrong and who needs to be cared for etc.