The theme that stood out to me in these beginning chapters is one of perseverance through trial and tribulations. This may seem interesting to point out when it is simply the beginning of the story, but the lives of those who came before the two Wes' were changed by the environment around them and pushed through them. It gave them lessons and feelings that may be tough to deal with where healing or learning is not a linear state, but the intent to create change is still there. This book shows the raw and real experiences of these two people and those involved in their lives. The first instance of perseverance is when we already know how the outcome of the two Wes' diverging their same path at some point, and they were able to tell their story through this book. It is important to point out how Wes stated in the introduction, "It is my sincere hope that this book does not come across as self-congratulatory or self-exculpatory", because it depicts mistakes that shouldn't justify some sort of better end.
(Statistics of individuals who had been sent home from the hospital and died)
Life is filled with unfortunate circumstances and forces good people into bad situations, and these beginning chapters are a testament to this and laid down the foundations of the upbringings of the two boys named Wes Moore. The first instance of this is seen in the first chapter when Wes Moore's mother named Joy first came to America and met this guy in college. When they had gotten married, Joy was soon hit the reality that her husband was an addict that ensued all types of abuse onto her. She thought she could change him and at some point she had enough of the abuse. She had the strength to take her stuff and leave despite it being harder for women to be independent from a man's support that time period. When she had left, she ended up finding Wes' future father who was a great man and she learned valuable lessons from being with her previous lover. When she had Wes who play fought with his sister, she made sure with her husband that he understood it was bad to hit women like that and hurt them. What pushed such circumstances further was when Wes' father was sick but the doctors undermined his condition and the healthcare system failed him. Upon this happening, Joy took the initiative to "create a fund that would provide equipment and training to paramedics on a new procedure for dealing with respiratory or cardiac arrest". This was to help her cope and prevent further tragedy happening.
(Wes and his brother Tony)
The other instance of those in the lives of the other Wes Moore going through trials and tribulation is from when Wes’ mother Mary was left to raise two children on her own with no father figure. This left the eldest son Tony to even dabble in the drug business to make ends means for himself as well. Mary had even tried to establish herself as a graduated college student, but Pell Grant had been taken away from her due to the new presidency. She continued on to work multiple jobs for her family and provide an education from them as well. Whereas with Tony being the only male figure Wes could look up to, he did not want Wes to end up like him. Tony would even risk sounding like a hypocrite to him because he had already fallen so deep into the business of dealing drugs.
All of these individuals have faced adversity and learned their lessons. All of them have regrets and push forward for others to live a better life than them. This sets the roots for the desire for change and it either could be nurtured or neglected regardless of the tender’s best intentions.
great writing
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