Worthless Boy: A Memoir
by Orva Schrock Outskirts Press ISBN: 9781432780425 Copyright © September 2011 $14.95 Hardcover 98 Pages Imagine being the outsider amongst a dozen siblings. You are the one who is eager to fit in and be a good worker like your older brothers, but you are labeled “worthless” by your father. You yearn for the attention of your mother, but she is too busy raising your younger siblings and attending to the family household. This is what I write my essay about. Imagine being this child in an Amish household, eager for the attention that a young blossoming mind deserves, but lost in a world of religious stronghold and misunderstanding. This was the childhood of Orva Schrock, and this book, Worthless Boy, is his memoir. Divided into 2 parts consisting of just seven chapters over 81 pages, Schrock wastes not a word painting a picture of a troubled and disturbed childhood, a boy yearning for the attention of his parents but getting most persecution instead. The book begins with this sentence: I was born as fuel for hell, or so was the deepest metaphysical understanding I was capable of. Part 1 of the book begins when Orva is three and traces several concrete moments throughout his childhood and teen years. He longed for the attention of his father, but got mostly verbal and physical abuse which resulted in quite a bit of mental anguish which led to Orva becoming quite the young rowdy boy who acts out for attention. Add to this the “hardcore” religious beliefs of his Amish upbringing and the move of his large family for better work to keep the family fed. Part 1 ends at his ninth grade year of school, which was also the end of his formal education. Part 2 is a quick glimpse into the 50 years that have passed as Orva reflects on the death of his father, and spends one whole chapter quoting from various books he has read and which made him a stronger man. Though the book is very heart wrenching, and impeccably polished when it comes to editing and formatting, it is more of a long essay and carries quite a hefty price for a book that is under 100 pages and hardcover. But, our stories are not always full of detail with long drawn out pictures. Such is the joy of self-publishing, and this is Orva’s story.
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