Title of the Book: Three Little Words
Author: Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Number of Pages: 297
Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Review:


Ashley Rhodes was three years old the day she was taken from her mother. Her one year old brother was put into a different car and their lives changed completely. Though their paths crossed often, the siblings would go on two totally different journeys. Three Little Words is Ashley's account of her journey through the Florida foster care system. She must deal with the trauma of trying to let go of her past, while also building herself a future. All while in a constant struggle of trying to get back to her mother. By age 5 Ashley has realized she must hold onto the things that she can: a doll, a music box, an outfit here and there. She finds that those things quickly disappear with each new relocation, each new family. Until they don't anymore. Ashley spends 9 years in the system, enduring abuse, trauma, loss, and abandonment, before finally finding a forever family, before she finally says her three little words.

This is a unique book because it gives the reader some insight into a part of our world that we don’t really talk about enough. The foster system doesn’t work for so many children, and Ashley wasn’t any different. The trials she goes through become so much worse when you realize that these are the memories of a child. She survives in a world that most of us couldn’t have handled, and she shows just how much a child can go through. If you look Ashley up now, you'll find that she is a very well known author and keynote speaker, as well as social worker and foster mom. She managed to turn her trials into a life that she flourishes in, and continues to help children have better lives. I would recommend this book because it's a story that resounded in me for a while after I read it. The images that Rhodes-Courter puts into the reader's mind are beautiful, deep, and sometimes disturbing. Her story is one of perseverance that has continued even today into her work with kids that are just like she was. Ashley is a role model for all kids-- not just the ones in the system. She has endured pain most of us could never imagine, while keeping her head up and fighting for what she believes in, and fighting for those that can't fight for themselves. This book is just the beginning of her story, and I think that anyone that wants a real life hero should read it.

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