Small as an Elephant

By: Jennifer Richard Jacobson / Narrated By: William Dufris

Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins

Uhm… well… sometimes I just canNOT help the way m’ brain works… good for youngsters in tough tough tough situations, tho’

Young Jack has juuuust woken up to discover his mom is NOWHERE in sight; she didn’t wake him up for breakfast; her tent is gone; and? The car is gone as well. He kinda sorta doesn’t worry toooo much because? Well, this ain’t Jack’s first rodeo with his mom disappearing, for a bit, for a long bit, for a looooong bit. Indeed, usually she’s left (He doesn’t dare think: Abandoned) him at whatever home they’ve been staying at. And usually, it’s okay—there’s food, there're people he knows, his school and friends (Whom he does NOT mention it to!), -but- there are also things such as: The electricity suddenly goes out as there’s nobody to pay the bill, or the phone doesn’t work… same reason.

So here, camping out in a National Park, he’s, well, he tries not to be angry, doesn’t think about his feelings, and he sets about Managing, finding food, finding water, trying so desperately hard NOT to let ANYone discover that his mom has flown the coop. And again—does NOT think: Abandoned.

Soon, other campers/adults nearby, the Park Rangers, start getting a bit toooo close to him, toooo close to the truth of his situation. Ahhhh, he begins to think to himself: It’s only a 13-day walk back to Boston; he’ll walk home. And also soon? He starts getting into scrapes, has to dodge people asking questions, starts making ethically questionable decisions based on desperate need to just stay alive, to just get home. Then he discovers that his “disappearance” from the campsite has been noted, and he’s Missing, and communities far and wide are looking for him. MORE people to dodge: He HAS to keep his mom safe. Sure, she’s “spinning” again, so she can’t help it, but NO—He loves his mother, and she’s drilled it into his head that People Will Take Him Away, so trust no one.

Lemme just quickly address William Dufris’s narration: Competent, even admirable. He handles the action well as things start spiraling out of Jack’s limited control (And he just believes he SHOULD be able to DO more, to juggle the various catastrophes with ease, to make proper choices, like any adult would… he SHOULD SHOULD SHOULD). Dufris also handles the many and varied emotions Jack has to ride like waves, clinging to some, dropping others like hot potatoes lest his utter devotion to his mother be tested. Plus, there are several characters who come into the story and are very important to events, Big Jack in particular, and Dufris makes what HE says into something that causes tears to form in the listener’s eyes—touching stuff. So, well done!

Now let’s go to what I thought, what this story made me feel, as the reviewer, purely subjective: ExHAUSTed, and heartbroken. Plus, m’ Brain just kept thinking: Oh YIKES, those neural pathways developing, being reinforced. Cuz Jack’s had some serious childhood traumas, some brainwashing into having to carry his mother, carry more than any child should, and the writing makes this abundantly clear. It’s NORMAL for him to think that opportunity after opportunity for assistance will be the worst thing in the world; it’s NORMAL for him to steal because Need is VERY real to him. Sooo, I kept thinking that, with each offer of assistance presented and run from, with each theft based on absoLUTE Necessity? Welllll, I was thinking I was watching the unfoldment of an individual who’d have oh so much to get over as a teen, as an adult. It was exhausting. Further, at the AWEsome ending, there’s a very touching exchange, a realization, a safe harbor for young Jack where he can get in touch with what is REALLY going on inside him, and he has Big Jack’s presence, Big Jack’s words, to guide him to catharsis. Now see, most young people don’t get a Big Jack; I did NOT have a Big Jack… and so, with the wretchedness I felt, I had the addition of feeling like I was carrying aaaalll the shards of a young broken heart.

So maybe a Trigger Warning? for some folks. -But- also a: Gee, young kids neeeed to have stories like this because FAR toooo many of them have waaay too much to carry; this’ll make them feel like, yep, it happens; and yep, you can bounce back if you just Trust, Have Faith, when Help comes your way, is offered. Do NOT trust those racing, fearful thoughts, the ones that were indoctrinated in you as a wee kidlet. It’s NOT Okay, but there are ways to manage, other ways to live.

All in all, a nice enough Listen, with a few sucker punches here, there, and everywhere. SUCH a nice touch to include Elephant Facts/Anecdotes throughout (The MOST. Loving. Spiritual Beings. EVER!). Grand narration. And other than a big ol’ neat and tidy bow wrapping up the verrrry end, this was a good story, and mostly well-crafted.

NECESSARY for kids navigating a harsh world, grim realities. NECESSARY for kids carrying burdens that they shouldn’t have to…