Have You Found Her A Memoir

Twenty years after she lived at a homeless shelter for teens, Janice Erlbaum went back to volunteer. Now thirty-four years old and a successful writer, shed changed her life for the better; now she wanted to help someone else-someone like the girl shed once been.

Then she met Sam. A brilliant nineteen-year-old junkie savant, the product of a horrifically abusive home, Sam had been surviving alone on the streets since she was twelve and was now struggling for sobriety against the adverse health effects of long-term drug abuse.

Soon Janice found herself caring deeply for Sam, following her through detoxes and psych wards, halfway houses and hospitals, becoming ever more manically driven to save her from the sickness and sadness leftover from Sams terrible past. But just as Janice was on the verge of becoming the girls legal guardian, she made a shocking discovery: Sam was sicker than anyone knew, in ways nobody could have imagined.

Written with startling candor and immediacy, Have You Found Her is the story of one womans quest to save a girls life-and the hard truths she learns about herself along the way.

“A rich and compelling account . . . Ultimately this is a book about the narrators journey and the dangers that attend the urge within us all to believe we can save another soul. A terrific read.”

-Cammie McGovern, author of Eye Contact

2. Another theme of the book is addiction. Both Sam and Janice have

drug addictions, but they also exhibit other addictive behaviors. Can

you identify them? How do these other addictions affect their lives

and the events of the story?

3. Janice often mentions her own skin color, ethnic background, and

economic class, as well as the color, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation

of the girls at the shelter. How do you think color, ethnicity,

class, and sexuality play into the events of the story? Do you think

such issues are handled sensitively in this book?

4. In the book, Janice admits to lying, taking drugs, and evading rules

a number of times. Does this influence your perception of her as a reliable

narrator? Why or why not?

5. Janice is a writer, as is Sam. How do you think Janices being a

writer affected the events of the story? Does this make her more or less

reliable as a narrator?

6. Were you surprised by the conditions of the shelter as Janice describes

them? What do you think of the shelter system, and how do

you think it could be improved? What kinds of services do you think

should be available to homeless and addicted youths?

7. Have you ever known someone like Sam? Is there anything about

her behavior that you recognize in other people, or even in yourself?

How do you think her behavior differs from that of “normal” people?

8. On page 336, Janice writes, “Something had happened in that

house . . . something that had helped make Sam very, very sick.” Do

you agree with her assessment? Do you think Sams sickness is a product

of her upbringing or do you think it is biological in nature? Are

her parents responsible for making her the way she was?

9. One title that was suggested for this book was “Sucker: A Love

Story.” Do you think that title is apt?

10. What do you think happened to the redhead who panhandled on

Janices block? What about the other graduates of the shelter? What

kinds of outcomes do you imagine for these girls?