Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back
By Claire Fontaine, Mia Fontaine
Regan Books, $24.95
320 pages, ISBN 0060792167

Review by Jessica Carlson

How does a child who has suffered to the point that her sensibilities and self worth become broken, detached and seriously damaged, come back? How does a child reconcile abuse at the hands of a person who is supposed to protect her? How does a child deal with the most heinous of personal violations as they seek to find an identity that shields them from torment and self-loathing? "Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back" allows us, the readers, a unique opportunity and insight into an adolescent's path of self-sabotage and destruction in effort to shield herself from a deep-rooted pain stemming from sexual violations perpetrated by her own biological father.

Mia is a daughter wrought in despair. In her attempts to squelch the suffering and find her own identity, she chooses the reckless abandonment of her upscale home in Los Angeles where her mother works as a successful screenwriter and adoring stepfather is as invested in Mia's well-being as any father would hope to be. Mia's poor judgment and desire to thwart self-confrontation lead her to the streets of Venice, California where she'd rather choose street life and drugs rather than facing her demons.

Mia's mother, Claire, is strong and intelligent. Her words and self-reflection honor her daughter and resonate a fierce love, but in all of her self-absorbed eccentricities and one-dimensional analysis, she seems to miss the abstract developmental needs of her 14-year old daughter. While Claire proves to be a mother we all aspire to be, one that refuses to give up or fail, one that will do whatever it takes to bring back their child from hell, she is also not afraid to use unconventional methods to get there. These drastic approaches serve as a method of tough love in which the reader will gladly forgive her former naiveté and transform into a die-hard fan.

Mother and daughter write this memoir in a dual perspective. Claire uses her talent as a successful screenwriter to retell her emotional struggle and physical search to bring her daughter back from drugs, skinheads and sex. The road is long and anxiety ridden as she arranges for her young teenager to be "caught", or rather, kidnapped, and brought to what I affectionately term the "Czechoslovakian drug deprogramming prison", a European rehab program with no alternative but to face the reasons why you wound up there. It is at this point when it becomes nearly impossible to put this book down. As these deeply committed caretakers and professionals of the school help Mia to unlock her fullest potential and worthiness, you find yourself cheering for Mia and anxiously awaiting her next contribution to the book. In the way that Mia ultimately finds her way back, many life lessons are learned from this mere child who spent several years growing up within the confines of this structured environment. You quickly find yourself thanking Mia for your own self-reflections and desire to evaluate certain turning points in your own life.

Throughout the book, Mia graces us with a truly unique teenage perspective which is both impressive and mature. In the beginning, her reckless behavior leaves you angry and full of admonishment as her foolishness makes you question her sensibilities and intelligence, but anger quickly turns to admiration as her words lead you to the place where her pain resides. Claire, in a way only a mother's broken heart can capture, takes us to the sometimes uncomfortable emotional condition as she embarks on nontraditional therapy herself. Her acknowledgement of her own flaws and her desire to make any sacrifice needed to help her daughter is truly inspiring.

Only once every few years do I come across a book that engages, enrages and inspires me in the way that "Come Back" has. This kind of writing talent is rare and deserves your attention! Self resolve, acceptance and accountability are among the many lessons that will enrich your life by reading this gifted memoir. Judicial reform is also examined as the authors make social statements about how children of abuse are treated, both in court and in society at large. Resources are provided to those that wish to contribute to this tragic phenomenon in which the criminal's rights precede the rights of the child, a topic I am personally passionate about. After you read this book, you will want to do your part to ensure abused children are safe from those that tormented them and that those criminals are held accountable. We owe it to the most innocent and vulnerable people of our society.

Visit Claire and Mia's website for more information about the book and an excellent list of resources for families in crisis.