"The End of Adolescence"

In the memoir “The End of Adolescence”, Chelsea, the narrator, tells the story of when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She starts with describing the day her family received the news. She describes the hospital and the walls around her, the smell of death. She describes her father’s eyes, too. They are really nice descriptions but I feel that she could have done a better job describing her feelings.

Afterwards, she described how her life changed; she had to take care of her mother and show her she wasn’t weak. Her father always worked and her two sisters lived far away, which made her responsibility over her mother much greater. Chelsea then goes on describing how this experience helped her grow up. If she had the opportunity to go back in time and erase, she said she wouldn’t because of what she gained.

Something I don’t understand is what she meant when she said “I wish I never had to smell death again, but then, there’s always going to be another trip to the hospital.” Did she mean that death teaches you valuable lessons? Yes, this might be true. I think it’s more like as death approaches, things are needed to be taken more seriously.

“The End of Adolescence” is a nice memoir, a reflection on Chelsea’s past experience that changed her life for good. I still feel that she could have written more of her thoughts and emotions towards her father and mother, as well as her own problems that she could have had during this time. Her memoir seems to be just covering the main points of her experiences, with a few feelings in, but honestly, I would assume someone might feel those things.

To sum things up, Chelsea’s memoir had a strong impact on her life, but she could have done a better job telling it.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/readpoem.asp?id=11980&genre=Memoir&Page=5&sortBy=