Abandoned in the Maze

Michael Berg
American Book Publishing (2006)
ISBN 1589823001
Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (3/07)

Michael Berg has something to say about the state of the child-care system in America. “Abandoned in the Maze” is Berg’s statement. With fifteen years of experience in the area of adolescent services, he has been a supervisor in a group home and knows the in and outs of the system well.

The topic of foster homes, group homes, and children becoming custody of the state is way out of my frame of reference. So I was eager to read Michael Berg’s book and get educated in the way this system works. I was shocked and saddened by what I read.

 “Abandoned in the Maze” is a fictional story based on some realities. Set in Florida, in a future where abortion has been outlawed, two girls are taken into state custody when their mother is arrested for being part of a subversive abortion rights group. Sent to the Trench Center group home, Irene and her sister are immediately separated and go through months of sexual abuse, violence, and emotional torture.

Reading what the group home staff, caseworkers, and foster parents do to Irene, her sister, and the other innocent boys and girls that have become wardens of the state is almost too much to bear, yet I could not put the book down. Michael Berg’s writing is straightforward. His passion for the topic is evident and he does not candy-coat the issue. He wants to make sure the reader gets the message loud and clear. Berg kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. I stayed optimistic for a happy ending all the way to the end. I did not get it. I am still optimistic that there are people in this line of work who are the good guys with Michael Berg being one of them. His efforts to shed light on this subject are admirable.

Now that I know that these horrible things are happening, what can I do? After thinking about it, I am first glad that I have been educated. My second step is to recommend this book to others. If more people read “Abandoned in the Maze”, maybe we can become a collective voice for change.

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