About My Name Is Lisa
The story of Lisa takes place in northeast Texas not far from the Louisiana border. It is a love story about a group of people who come together because of Lisa, an abandoned ten-year-old girl. Lisa spent all but the first few weeks of her life in a room with her brother behind a closed door and boarded windows. Their mother put them in the room because she thought it to be the only way to protect them from the man’s abuse. They were together until the man brutally murdered Billy while their mother watched and did nothing.
Billy was five years old when Lisa was born. Once their mother put them in the room, she didn’t talk to them and did little to see to their needs. After seeing that Billy liked to read to Lisa, she did bring the children’s books. When Lisa was old enough, Billy taught her what he knew about reading, and then they continued to learn together. The dictionary came to be their favorite book, once they discovered its purpose.
The story actually begins in the autumn of Lisa’s tenth year when, two years after Billy’s death, the man and mother abandoned her. It was two weeks before a police officer, after receiving a tip from a concerned neighbor, discovered Lisa. The officer and Shannon, the social worker that takes Lisa’s case, had been friends for many years. Working with Lisa opens doors to a new relationship between them.
Lisa stayed in the hospital for a while where she slept in a real bed and took her first bath. Once she was stronger she moved in with Shannon and Maggie. Maggie would serve as her guardian, nanny, and teacher. Lisa experienced many firsts such as smelling the fresh air, touching grass, and feeling the wind on her face. Shopping at Wal-Mart became a favorite. It was there that she bought her first pair of shoes and later Christmas decorations for her first Christmas tree. Lisa and Billy had learned a little about God and Jesus from some of their Christmas books and from the Bible. Lisa was glad to learn that Billy is with God in heaven and that there is no sadness there.
In her new home, Lisa has a pretty room, many books, a doll, and a German shepherd dog named Butch that is there to protect her. Although her life has drastically changed, she is still in danger. Once the man discovers Lisa is alive, he and his brother desperately try to abduct and kill her. The detectives find Billy’s body but have a hard time finding the man and mother even though they have come close to abducting Lisa on two separate occasions.
Dr. Joyce is Lisa’s psychiatrist. Lisa has much rage, hate, and anger towards the man and mother. Dr. Joyce helps her come to a place of healing while Maggie teaches her about forgiveness and faith.
This is a love story and a success story with a happy ending.
About The Story
Lisa’s story is not about physical abuse where she is concerned but about mental abuse and neglect. When we think of mental abuse we mostly think of a child being verbally abused such as being told she is worthless, stupid, ugly, and such. In Lisa’s case, there was little to no conversation between her and her mother and none with ‘the man’ so there was no verbal abuse. She had a wonderful relationship with her brother, who was in the room with her, so again, there is no verbal abuse. In her case, it was all about neglect. Now we have to define neglect. They had food, clothing, shelter, and a bed to sleep in. They were able to clean themselves. The abuse was that they couldn’t see outside their room because the windows were boarded, and they were told to stay in their room for fear of being beaten. They could not communicate with anyone except their mother, with few to no words. The reason behind Lisa’s intelligence you can read about in the book. Even with all of her knowledge, she didn’t know about dealing with her anger, hate, and unforgiveness. Lisa’s story is not a hopeless, sad story. It is about a journey she takes that is exciting, at times frightening, dangerous, but most of all, a love story about a group of people that come together because of her.
PURCHASE MY NAME IS LISA
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