Every Last Word is powerful

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Published June 2015

Every Last Word is a powerful story of the importance of identifying our authentic self, being true to that self, and being honest with others about who we are.  By presenting our authentic self, we risk being rejected, but we benefit by knowing we are loved and accepted for who we truly are.

Samantha has been a member of the group "The Crazy Eights" since kindergarten. This is a group that was originally eight girls and is now 6 who are very tight-knit. The "eights" are now in high school - they are the popular and powerful clique, the envy of others.  They are invited to all the parties, they all have attractive jock boyfriends, and one girl's father gets them tickets to all the most exciting concerts.

Samantha, or Sam, as she prefers, has been diagnosed with OCD - more obsessive thoughts than compulsive actions.  In order to continue to be accepted by the "eights" she has kept this from them.  They don't know she sees "Shrink-Sue", her therapist, every Wednesday, and that she is taking medication to control her thoughts and to sleep at night.  Sam feels she is near the bottom rung of the "eights" and would be mortified and ostracized if they knew of her OCD.

Shrink-Sue is concerned about Sam's reliance on the "eights" for her social life. From what Sam has told her, it is obvious Sue believes this group is toxic for Sam and she encourages her to seek out new friendships.  In addition, Sam is a stellar swimmer who has only focused on her swimming during the summer.  Sue and Sam agree Sam could possibly earn a scholarship with her swimming and should focus more on it during the school year.

As the new school year starts, Sam meets Caroline, who introduces her to "Poets Corner" and the poets who meet there.  Sam is sworn to secrecy as the location of the group and their meetings are to be kept quiet.  Here at Poet's Corner she meets AJ, a boy she cruelly bullied in 4th grade due to his stutter, which has now been resolved.  Not only is Sam sorry and ashamed of her bullying, but AJ is also the one to convince to be allowed access to Poet's Corner.

Throughout the school year Sam juggles time with the eights, keeping her poet friends secret, keeping her OCD secret, and increasing her time swimming.  She discovers a side of herself that loves to write poetry and is strongly attracted to AJ and the poetic songs he writes and performs.  During this time of juggling, Sue encourages her to be her authentic self and to let her friends know of her struggles, which Sam strongly resists as she fears rejection.  Only Caroline knows of her true self and accepts her.  But, Caroline has secrets of her own.

Every Last Word is a powerful coming-of-age story.  Sam reflects the teen we have all been or are who find themselves acting as a different person based on who they are with.  Along with Sam we begin to see that only with friends who know us and accept us as we truly are can we feel safe and free to be true to ourselves.  Sam begins to see her OCD as a part of her real self and not something she needs to be ashamed, but her struggles become harder before things improve. She slowly finds being her authentic self increases her confidence and reduces the importance of her illness, but only after some shocking revelations.

Every Last Word is a moving, tear inducing story of recognizing we are not alone in our feeling of being abnormal, but by being honest with others, we can find the person we are is good enough and worthy of love and friendship.  This is highly, highly recommended.



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