About White Oleander
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White Oleander
(Little, Brown, 1999)
Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brilliant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery–but their idyll is shattered when Astrid’s mother falls apart over a lover. Deranged by rejection, Ingrid murders the man, and is sentenced to life in prison.
White Oleander is the unforgettable story of Astrid’s journey through a series of foster homes and her efforts to find a place for herself in impossible circumstances. Each home is its own universe, with a new set of laws and lessons to be learned. With determination and humor, Astrid confronts the challenges of loneliness and poverty, and strives to learn who a motherless child in an indifferent world can become.
Tough, irrepressible, funny, and warm, Astrid is one of the most indelible characters in recent fiction. White Oleander is an unforgettable story of mothers and daughters, burgeoning sexuality, the redemptive powers of art, and the unstoppable force of the emergent self. Written with exquisite beauty and grace, this is a compelling debut by an author poised to join the ranks of today’s most gifted novelists.
02/12/2010 at 11:16 pm
If I were stranded on a desert island, this is the book I’d want with me.
07/17/2012 at 4:17 am
Same here..
02/17/2010 at 12:14 am
Now there’s a compliment–thanks!
02/17/2010 at 5:26 pm
White Oleander is one of my all-time favorites! I’m curious– what are some of your favorite books?
02/18/2010 at 4:26 am
I swear, I have never read a better book in my entire life. Everyday, I will read small parts of the book just to remind me of this great novel. More of a bible than a book, I love White Oleander.
02/26/2010 at 8:55 pm
I agree with Emily Avent. I have White Oleander always by my bed. I have read it so many times. Janet, your language and writing style completely suck the reader in. Everything is so vivid and descriptive, clear. I gave a copy to a friend of mine and he likes its so far! He’s going to pass it along when he’s done. I also love the audiobook narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan; although it’s impossible to purchase and hard to find at libraries.
Michelle Pfeiffer was a perfect Ingrid, so deliciously evil.
I’m looking forward to reading Paint It Black.
03/03/2010 at 5:30 pm
White Oleander is on my top 3. I rarely re-read things, but this is one that I have read many, many times. <3
03/14/2010 at 6:40 pm
Nice to know that I’m not the only one obsessed with this book. Each word, so carefully chosen–it is a sacrament. I want to consume sections daily.
I only wish we had another chance at the screenplay. The book deserved better!
03/24/2010 at 4:52 pm
The other day I had an idea for a cool twist on White Oleander:
What if Ingrid didn’t get caught?
How would this effect Astrid?
Would they come to live in a mother daughter “Bony and Clyde” fashion?
How would being raised by Ingrid rather than in foster homes reshape the woman that Astrid would become?
Would Astrid ultimately become what Ingrid was at a younger age?
I want to write this as something to keep me busy this summer. I don’t intend to publish or make any money off it. I just want to do it as something for me to have for myself. Before I start, I want to know if this is OK with you Janet. I won’t type a single key until I get the OK from you.
With all my best as your fan,
JEFFREY L. WEINTHAL
04/05/2010 at 8:20 pm
I appreciate your honesty.
I hope that you don’t think anything bad about me because of it.
I really am a huge fan of yours and I would never offend you on purpose.
Sorry about making you feel uneasy.
I hope that you accept my sincerest apology.
Your Fan,
JEFFREY
03/25/2010 at 11:03 pm
I love, love, love this book so much, and loaned it out so many times to so many friends, that the binding started to fall apart. I somehow managed to tape it all back together, carefully making sure I had each and every page. And then I went and bought another copy. Hah!
04/17/2010 at 7:59 pm
Like Lisa, my copy is also held together with masking tape – so much in fact that there are discoloured layers from various stages of disintergration. I have had the same copy for almost six years now and, as with many of the other commenters, re-read it constantly. Every sentence is perfect. almost any paragraph could be taken out of the context of the novel and would still be a beautiful and understandable piece of prose. I feel so lucky to have stumbled across such an intelligent, comprehensive book to shape the remainder of my adolescence, so much so that I actually considered applying to study abroad in order to take your creative writing class.
Paint It Black is also another brilliant effort and I particularly envy the way in which you are able to display the various effects of class divides, the distribution of wealth and education and the value we attach to different ascepts of cultre, particulrly how people from different walks of life can appreciate art froms in similar and different ways simultaneously. Lastly, I find it interesting both how similar and different the characters of Josie and Astrid are. I cannot wait for the next installment.
The one question I have is on the subject of character development. What most intrigues me is the way you are able to allow Astrid a voice in prose which is both natural to her character and accesible to the audience. To write a novel of the journey of a girl that is simoultaneously belivable of the thought process of a girl aged twelve, the girl as a grown woman telling the story of her childhood, and an adult approach to a ‘child’s’ story, whilst maintaining the dialogue appropriate to that of a teenager, is amazing. What technique do you apply in order to so accurately mirror astrids thoughts in her speech, without making the language seem unbelievable for her age?
Thank you for writing,
Hannah
04/18/2010 at 2:13 pm
You have to pick a protagonist who will have very interesting thoughts, because your reader is not a child. While the vocabulary has to mirror where a character is in their development — for realism — teenagers often have very interesting insights and issues which can be dealt with in a subtle and sophisticated way. The contrast between what they say and what they’re thinking is also full of possibilities. If you have a character who has interesting thoughts but not the vocabulary to be a good first person point of view character, you can always do them in third person, and use your own vocabulary to describe their thoughts. But if the thoughts are uninteresting, it’s not going to work, whether they’re 14 or 42.
thanks for the thoughtful comment!
Janet
04/17/2010 at 8:01 pm
* please excuse the appalling typing, it is 5am and I procrastinating from writing an essay
07/22/2010 at 11:37 am
“White Oleander” is a light in this dark world. I read some older comments and I agree on the fact that the book is like my own Bible. I’m French so I have discovered the story in a foreign language but I read a lot of quotes on the internet and I thought that your writing is heartbreakingly beautiful and poetic. The words just draw scars on your mind and never fade away. I remember a quote of Ingrid in the book: “Always learn poems by heart. They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water, they’ll make your soul impervious to the world’s soft decay.” I wish I could learn “White Oleander” by heart. This is my favorite book ever and sometimes in these moments of life where everything seems dark and hopeless, it reminds me of the strength I have in me and the purpose of breathing. Dylan Thomas is my favorite poet, and Sylvia Plath as well and the mood, the atmosphere of your book remind me of their works. I just bought “White Oleander” and “Paint it black” in English… I can’t wait to read them without any language betrayal. I hope that a new novel will bloom for your amazing mind. You have changed my life… this book has saved my life.
One of my favoirte quote of the book, from Astrid: “The pearls weren’t really white, they were a warm oyster beige, with little knots in between so if they broke, you only lost one. I wished my life could be like that, knotted up so that even if something broke, the whole thing wouldn’t come apart.”
09/22/2010 at 10:35 am
I just loved the book.its an artistic genius.every word,every line is so beautifully framed and written that it just leaves a remarkable impression in ur mind.It took me around 45 days to finish this novel.Every word i read made me reflect back and feel the emotions.
11/07/2010 at 11:13 pm
“White Oleander” is my favorite book of all time– and as a 4th year English major, I have read a lot of books!
Although I must have read “White Oleander” hundreds of times, I feel as though I discover something new about the characters, the city of Los Angeles, poetry, etc each time I pick it up.
I’m dying to know– who is “the man from Council Bluffs”?
Thank you, Janet, for writing this beautiful and inspiring book.
11/11/2010 at 8:59 pm
It’s my Dad. he was a great reader, he was the one who got me started in all this.
12/05/2010 at 12:24 am
I just re-read your comment and noticed that I duplicated the English major portion – I just re-read White Oleander yet again and it still amazes me that in all my reading I have yet to find another work that is so lyrical, yet intense.
12/05/2010 at 12:21 am
My dog-eared, meticulously underlined copy is proof that this is the only book I’ve had the motivation to read several times. I came across it at a crucial point in my life, so I may be biased, but this is literally (no pun intended) one of the most beautiful piece of literature I’ve come across in all my years as an English major and voracious reader.
12/10/2010 at 9:50 pm
oh my goodness, I cannot believe you are on here.
Your book, white oleander, not to sound completely crazy (whatever that word means) but I carry it to most places with me. It’s one of the most special books ever written and means.. ah so much to me.
Perfect writing. It’s really immaculate.
01/03/2011 at 9:50 am
This is an amazing book i went through it thinking oh my god what a amazing heartfelt. as i read through It felt like Astrid herself wrote White Oleander biased on her life I have to say that is a amazing job. it is so hard to write like you are the charater.
I try to get my friends to read it but because they and I am deaf they do not like reading unlike me. I hope you can reply and think how I say this
01/03/2011 at 11:21 am
Thanks for the kind comment! So interesting that you’ve experienced deaf people as less likely to enjoy reading! I would have guessed the opposite. In getting anyone to read more, I think the secret is not giving people the books I like, but in thinking about them and what they like–if someone likes thriller movies, then thriller books are perfect. If people like romantic comedies, I recommend romantic/comedic novels. Drama-lovers get dramas. Soap-opera lovers get chick-lit. If people only like “true stories” and the news, then I’m looking for non-fiction and memoir. Personally, I love super-emotional, dark, highly-dramatic, lyrically-written literary fiction. But I wouldn’t recommend those books to just anybody.
01/11/2011 at 4:26 am
Well I have to say I’m impressed by your ability to make me love these flawed characters no matter what they do and even if I hate their actions. I’m more an Ingrid myself with a large bit of Astrid always rowing my sails to the humane side. I just wonder, if given a chance would you be an Astrid or an Ingrid or both? I love lyrical writing; yours is one of the finest.
01/30/2011 at 4:49 pm
The moment I started reading White Oleander, I fell in love with it. Every time I lose someone or something in my life, I re-read it. Both Astrid and Ingrid serve as an incredible source of hope and strength. Thank you so much for this book.
07/15/2011 at 1:58 pm
Hi Jane,
I am a grad student in Social Work @ Florida Atlantic University. Your book is part of our Children Welfare courses. I cut and paste my comment for the rest of the students. I am analyzing Ingrid’s root of psychological maltreatment. It would be intersting to know your opinion about what I wrote. I can also presented to them as your feedback.
Here I go….
Ingrid’s root of psychological maltreatment sat at the dysfunctional narcissistic needs not being met in her life. She is the universe and Astrid is a rocky planet that remind her of a hated past and the reason she could not pay her electric bills because she need new shoes. As Astrid said: “She was a beautiful woman dragging a crippled foot and I was that foot”. Astrid thought of her mother as “Queen Christina, cool and sad, eyes trained on some distant horizon. That was where she belonged…My deepest fear was that someday she would find her way back there and never returns”. Prison was the distant horizon that left Astrid alone for the rest of her childhood.
Ingrid, as many women in our society, was someone who knows that we live in patriarchal world and she knows that she is oppressed in our society, not only because she is poor but women. Ingrid’s isolation and resentment is recreated in her relationship with her daughter with neglect and maltreatment. She thought the world was disgusting and vulgar and lacks the beauty she wants. Ingrid felt lonely, sad, and desperate for the kind of love her narcissistic personality crave and humanly need. Ingrid felt burdened with her role as a mother, as lover, and as a women in our patriarchal society. She felt anger because she never gets her needs met. She is unable to maintain a long-term relationship because of the same reason.
She tries to discipline Ingrid to satisfy her own needs rather than benefit her daughter. Ingrid lives and perceives a hostile world in many cases because unsatisfying adult relationships. Ingrid’s only consistency is her life description of an un-hopeful and hostile world in every letter she sent to Astrid.
Ingrid especially qualifies for the Polansky, DeSaix, and Sharlin(1972) type of neglectful mother’s personalities, impulse ridden. She has low frustration tolerance, therefore the inability of delay gratification. She constantly uses poor judgment in her actions as it shown when she left Ingrid with Annie, a neighbor, for one year, or when she become so obsessed with Barry to expose her daughter to so much anger, rancor and a killing plan. Her energy is always directed in her undertakings, to satisfy her own needs and obsessions. Her consistency is questionable, and if there is any demonstration of affection is for her own benefit.
Using Crittenden(1999) criteria about how information is processed, Ingrid demonstrate emotional neglect. The cognitive process excludes affect. She makes sense of world in cognitive terms and Ingrid has learned that her mother is emotionally unavailable.
07/29/2011 at 2:16 am
This wonderful book has touhced me. Thanks for it. Jana
08/28/2011 at 1:04 pm
I’ll have to say reading wasn’t always an easy thing for me growing up. After seeing White Oleander on Lifetime and finding out it was a book first I thought I’d try reading it. I never thought I’d love reading so much!! I read it twice. Then when I discovered Paint it Black, I was thrilled and bought a copy right away. I LOVED that as well. I keep switching back and forth between the two, I just love them. I searched online and just realized you have one other book, KICKS, which I will be picking up as soon as possible and I can’t wait till your new book is released. Since I love your writing so much, do you suggest any other writers to me, that I may enjoy as well? Thanks you for all your great writing!
09/22/2011 at 10:03 am
I have never read the book White Oleander however the movie hits close to home. I was taking away at 6, lived in foster care, was adopted twice, and ended up growing up in group homes. I went through many of the same obstetrical as I still struggle with some of the scars my past has placed on me. This move had done a lot for me. I have since realized that the past is what has made me. I am a good person and a strong woman. I know that I have made some decision do to my upbringing and I am a tad be guarded as a person because of it. This book also helped me ex plane my life to my teenage daughter and bring out a softer side of me.
Thank you,
Daph
10/08/2011 at 6:59 pm
I am wanting to get a signed copy of White Oleander for my fiance for Christmas. is there any way I can do this? please email me rkhawkeye@gmail.com
10/21/2011 at 4:02 pm
This book has affected me so much. It inspired me to start writing seriously and it’s the best path my life has ever taken. The characters live beyond the pages and linger in my heart to this day. This will always be a favorite of mine, no matter what other novel may capture my attention for a time and then fade away.
12/12/2011 at 8:11 pm
I was absolutely obsessed with your book when it first came out. For years I would read it over and over again. I couldn’t get Astrid out of my head. This year I finally became a foster parent and I see how accurate Astrids story is. YOU inspired me to change young people’s lives with your book.
01/06/2012 at 9:39 pm
This book. Well, I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, and I quote this book silently as well as aloud and no one understands haha.
I am strangely in love with the character of Astrid and I feel like I can really relate to her because of her experiences of being in “the system” of foster care in Southern California. It’s like everything you described about that part of her life was so true and so vivid it was like I was there. Just amazing and breathtaking. Was it based on your story? Or any events of your life? Just curious because all the details were so realistic and graphic! This is by far my favorite book and when I die it’s being buried with me. incredible! I love your work, and please never stop writing!
01/31/2012 at 12:13 pm
hello, Ms. Fitch,
I’m reading the book White Oleander, It is great. I’m a virtual academic student at USC, doing masters in social work. Is this coincidence that the teacher asks to read a book written by a teacher at USC? Anyway, I need to write bio psycho social aspects of the characters of your book. Could you help me with that ? could you answer some questions? You know it is a good impression to write some words directly from the author.
Thank you.
Edna Felix
03/15/2012 at 8:10 pm
Hi Edna–
Bio psycho social aspects? Hmmmm… Probably could, though it’s been a while. More in tune with Paint It Black at this point. Thanks for the kind words and sure, I’ll give it a try.
best,
Janet F.
02/01/2012 at 1:50 am
Miss Janet, are you really one of those authors who gets twitchy and uneasy and disparaging when it comes to fanfiction?
That’s your choice in the end but, they’re really nothing more than a means for fans to communicate. A means of getting ideas and opinions out in unpublished, not-for-profit paragraphs on the internet. Have you ever read any? You may like it, or at least find it interesting. Or appalling, or funny, or inoffensive depending on the story or point of view. Makes for interesting discussion, if nothing else.
That’s not to say all of it is good. Far from it, fanfiction can often be an unedited cesspool. But it shows a reader’s voice and point of view, which can be a really rare thing in literature.
Not that I’m exactly telling you to go dig some up either, if you haven’t already. I know many an author who would jump off a bridge if JK Rowling found their ff.net account. The 4th wall exists for a reason.
But it’s an established thing none the less, and I’m just curious if you have a genuine issue with it, or could potentially find it pretty nonthreatening all around? Or would rather just stay univolved?
Genuine curiosity. Really do adore your novels and how you handle characters. Thanks!
03/15/2012 at 8:08 pm
Hi Wildflower–
Not sure what fanfiction is! Is it continuing a story or book of a writer you admire?
Thanks for the kind words!
best,
Janet
08/03/2012 at 12:28 pm
Dear Janet Fitch,
I have a quick question for you and a long explanation.
I’m wondering if I send you a copy of your book White Oleander, if you could sign it for my wife for our one year anniversary?
Here is why I think it is a fantastic idea.
My wife and I have been together for 9 years now but just got married last summer. The first year wedding anniversary is “Paper”. I thought, what could be better than her favorite author signing her favorite book? A little background information (Janet, you can stop reading at any point now). Joy (my wife) and I met in first year theatre class in university. Joy continued on in her education taking many acting and creative writing classes and finished with her education degree (clearly I did not take many writing classes…). She is now one of the best teachers and has a grade 3-4 split class at a Fine Arts School where she also teaches drama. Joy is an avid reader; she reads 2-3 books a month. Since she reads so frequently, and she’s collected so many books over the years, she is often asked for recommendations for a good read. A couple of years ago, she lent out her copy of White Oleander (which is one of the few books she’s reread many times). This copy, which she had highlighted and written many comments in, was never returned back to her. This event has led her to create a sign out system for her books. Although I’ll never be able to get this special copy back I was hoping to replace it, with your help of course, with something just sentimental.
Thank you for your consideration on this epic matter.
Kristopher Bouwmeester
Email: dr.bouwmeester@gmail.com
PS: she is the most wonderful person anyone could be lucky enough to meet.
08/08/2012 at 11:16 am
Such an amazing book truly one of my favorites. This book is so rich, sad and beautiful that it reads like poetry. I have searched the internet far and wide seen and seen the question asked with varied answers. I and so many others are dying to know what is the Penhaligon’s fragrance that Olivia gives Astrid?
10/27/2012 at 2:15 pm
Wow, it’s been such a long time! I remember, it was pink in the bottle.
08/15/2012 at 6:18 am
Av just finished the white oleander and av not read a book with an urge to re-read and this just have it .its artistic and poetic nature left me to savor.
08/15/2012 at 1:15 pm
I believe White Oleander is worthy of a sequel. Is it possible ?
10/27/2012 at 2:08 pm
Thanks May… A novel’s a lot like a mathematical equation… if you do it right, you find its ‘proof’– and then you’ve said what you wanted to say. I’d never say never, but don’t see a sequel at this point. I have other stories that still want to be explored.
wish you more good reading!
Janet
08/15/2012 at 10:51 pm
Hi Janet.
I have never felt the same again after reading White Oleander. It made me miss someone, but i dont know who that person is. Astrid is the best character writen in years. I am totaly amazed by your ability to invoke such feelings on a reader.
My question is, Thomas Newman, who wrote the theme to the movie, would you say the piano piece embodies the essence of the novel, or what theme song would you have chosen for the book.
I am a South-African fan, and would like to let you know that even in our part of the world, you are one of the most talked about writers. A good novel is universal.
Thank you.
10/27/2012 at 2:05 pm
Thanks FRederick!
I love the lyricism of that piece. Can’t really think of an overarching theme I would have preferred… each home seemed to have its own particular ‘music’ to me.
appreciate the kind note!
best,
Janet
08/23/2012 at 10:41 am
Hello Janet,
I think White Oleander is an incredibly intellectual novel, and it fascinates me every time I read it. I am usually addicted to memoirs about troubled childhoods and families, partly because of my own experiences. I have read some fiction stories that try to formulate troubled pasts, and I am usually disappointed at the unrealistic character thoughts.
Your book amazes me because I have to remind myself that it is a work of fiction. The way you describe Astrid’s emotions is deep and honest, and the poetic writing is beautiful. I hope to become and author someday, and I will be lucky if I am half as successful as you.
Thank you for writing this book, I treasure it!
Shana
10/27/2012 at 1:51 pm
THanks Shana!
08/26/2012 at 2:23 am
Hi, Janet FItch
I wanted to say that White Oleander is one of my all time favortie books! I also wanted to know, uder which genre would you classify the book?
10/27/2012 at 1:50 pm
I suppose the ‘genre’ is literary fiction.
09/18/2012 at 11:14 am
Hi Janet,
I mostly use the library as a political statement – library closures etc – however when I go on holiday with my sister, we choose five books each to share and the rule is, they must be from a charity shop and chosen for title, cover or authors name…
White Oleander was the first book I chose this year and the second book I read on holiday (I’m still here in Mallorca) and I have just this minute put it down…
Janet, what a book, what a writer ( at the end of our holiday we pass these books on….not this one…) This book is up there with my all time favourites…’The Grapes of Wrath’ Rape of the Fair Country’
‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ and ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist’
I have never read such sparkling lyrics, heard such thuds in the dark, felt the fire of so much pain. The profusion of metaphors are wall to wall jewels. As a woman writer, I am both envious and proud of your talent. Thank you for a wonderful book that I will treasure for a long, long time. If I ever make it to LA, I’d like to share a coffee with you.
Much love and in sisterhood
Jill Miller
10/28/2012 at 9:56 pm
My all-time favourite book (gave myself the middle name Astrid after reading it a few years ago). Will never get tired of reading it. ‘Paint it Black’ is a close second.
11/08/2012 at 8:53 pm
Hi Janet,
I’m the guy who wrote to you, about a year ago I guess, raving about the impact White Oleander had on me. I couldn’t believe you replied personally and that meant a lot. It’s strange, isn’t it, how your own life experiences dramatically impact your connection with art? Had I read that book when it was first published, I’ll admit I would probably have dismissed it as chick-lit. But with a little more life behind me, it instead moved me to tears and other intense emotions.
I’m so excited to have found your blog and see that many others have found just as much insight and truth in your work. I’m eager to read more and from the sounds of it “Paint It Black” might be a good place to start.
Oh, and I wholeheartedly agree with your essay about Halloween! I’ve had the same experience myself in recent years. In addition to what you said I also blame it on Big Retail’s over-commercialization of the day and on every special interest and fringe group now offering “alternatives” to trick-or-treating that divide and pull kids away from what used to be the main event. Now, by the night of the 31st, my kids have already been dumped with candy almost a dozen times.
02/04/2013 at 7:40 pm
I cant believe all the stuff I just poured out to you just dissapeared I have a story for you that Iam certian that you ar the one who should help me write it. I can’tgo throughit all again right now, but it involves 7 abusesed children of a respected police offecer and his slighlly (or more) abusive wife. We were terroized thriy=ughout childhood. The interesting parts of thei saga is how these children turned out. My alter ego is named ‘Susan Diamond. She dosent come around so much any more, I had a thriving business which I walked away from as wellas a beautiful ome to be the lover of a member of the upper echelon of the Detroit arabic mafia. Please contact me. 231-564-3232/ I have read your book several time and watched the movie as well. Beautiful. My storyt , with your help, could bring the same reactions from people like us who understand.
02/06/2013 at 6:52 pm
Dear Marion,
Thanks for contacting me, and for your kind comments. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t write memoir, mine or other people’s. I only write stories I make up myself. But you definitely sound like you have an incredible story, lots to write about, and I suggest you give it a try yourself–your passion comes through on the page. Here is one suggestion–don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of material you have. Write one story at a time. One scene at a time.
all my best wishes,
Janet Fitch.
02/23/2013 at 8:11 am
Dear Janet,
I’ve worked for years on writing my first novel, The Memory Box, a psychological suspense. Unsuccessfully, I tried to find an agent who’d help me to find a traditional publisher. I probably would’ve given up had it not been for a few fabulous rejections, two of which were from major publishers. And so I decided to self-publish – there’s no better time to be a writer, right?
But something stopped me. I didn’t want to publish something mediocre or something that smacked of novice-ness. I knew it was missing something but I didn’t know what. I haven’t been fortunate enough to study writing or literature, thereby making me a do-it-yourself writer. I remember thinking, if only someone could tell me, show me what I’m missing.
The literary Gods sent me an angel – in the form of White Oleander. After reading it I knew what I was missing and I knew what I needed to do. I learned how to create characters, and pacing and develop scenes and story. How to mix beauty with pain. I tell people that reading White Oleander was my do-it-yourself MFA. Thank you for that Janet. I was never so excited about taking another try at The Memory Box. I dedicate this story “The Books You’re Fated to Read” to you. I wrote it after finding and reading White Oleander. It’s a true story. Eva Lesko Natiello
http://evanatiello.com/2013/01/25/the-books-youre-fated-to-read/