Essence of Story Assignment 7

Beginning: Shana Green clenched her hands tightly on a pencil on the desk before her, until the snap of it breaking startled her, causing her to jump in her seat. She looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed, and of course that bitch child protection caseworker Margaret Baker had. Shana took a photo of her beautiful two-year-old daughter Jillie out of her pocket, holding it like a talisman as her lawyer put a gently restraining hand on her arm and they finished hearing the CPS case for removing Jilly from Shana's care.

"To conclude," said Baker, "Ms. Green has had three DUI's in the past year, and in the last one marijuana was found on her person. At one of those occasions she was driving with the child in the car, and at the latest incident we picked up the child from Ms. Green's residense where a party was in progress with inadequate child supervision." Shana's lip was moist with perspiration as she lost track of the caseworker's litany of inadequacies. She jiggled her leg under the desk, wishing the earth would open up and swallow her.

Rising on trembling legs, Shana tried to speak. Her lawyer handed her some water. Oh, God, help me out of this and I'll straighten out my act.

With tears in her eyes, she finally managed to choke out, "I know I've made mistakes, but I love my little girl. I'm a good momma to her; she always has food and clothes and love." Then, with a flash of anger, and a look directly at the caseworker, "I'm not going to let anyone take her away from me!"

Quarter-point: The judge sentences Shana to take DUI classes and parenting classes for the next year. At the insistence of the caseworker, she also must have regular drug tests during her probation. Shana, overconfident, takes her baby home. Because she does not take the caseworker seriously, and does not believe she is really an addict, she also starts hanging out with her old friends and trying to fool the drug tests. The caseworker catches her on a dirty test.

Middle: This time, when the judge sentences Shana to jail time, and she sees them taking her little girl away to a foster home, there is no easier way around it. She hangs on to the picture of her little girl, never knowing if she will ever see her again. The greyness of the prison walls, the angry eyes of her fellow inmates, and the tearful stories told at 12-step groups all break through her denial.

Three-quarter-point: After two months in jail, Shana finally admits, "I am an addict," and really starts working a recovery program. Her sponsor helps her to see that one day at a time she can rebuild her life. As she works through her list of people she has harmed, she puts her daughter right at the top. She contacts the caseworker to thank her for getting her daughter into a better situation, and to find out what she needs to do to earn back custody. Shana works hard to qualify for transfer to a women's half-way house, where she also gets supervised visitation with Jillie.

End: The story ends back in the courtroom, with a much-humbled Shana waiting to hear what the caseworker will say now that she is out of jail, in recovery, and working, with her own home. When the caseworker reccommends that Jillie return to her mother's care, all of Shana's recovery friends are there for the celebration. The story ends with the toddler running into her mommy's arms.

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