Review: Married at Fourteen

This was a pretty fascinating memoir of Lucy Day, whose life was filled with dissatisfactory relationships. A rebellious (maybe free-spirited might be more appropriate) teen, Lucy wanted to find a man and a baby to fulfill a deep void because she did not feel loved. Her mother was verbally abusive, which seemed to set the trend for her future relationships.

Her husband, whom she married at 14 and then again at 17, was opposed to her pursuing an education. The statistics for high school dropouts and teen moms, especially in that generation, are discouraging. That is why this book is so inspiring. Lucy defied the odds. She aggressively pursued her high school diploma, numerous masters degrees, and eventually her Ph.D., raising the bar for her own children. She’s a poet and published author and is now happily married with numerous grandchildren.

The read was somewhat frustrating because I kept thinking, “Oh, Lucy… you can do so much better than him!” However, Lucy didn’t allow any of these men to break her. She always knew she was capable of more.

I didn’t care for the sexual details in this book, so I did struggle a bit as to why those details were relevant.

In some ways, the book seemed vain. In others, it seemed far-fetched.
I still can’t figure out who the Famous Artist is that she’s referring to. Not that it matters, because he sounded like a complete jerk.

All in all, the take-home message for me was that everyone is deviant and, as we look back on our lives, we may find that our initial perceptions about people, especially those we love, may not have been entirely correct. Intrigued? I bet you are.

If you’re a mentor or parent to a difficult teenager, you may want to pick up a copy of this book. If you plan to purchase this book for a teenager, my recommendation is to screen it and make yourself available for discussion.

Disclosure: I received a free copy to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own!