Nahrung

Yeah... This was not a 'sex scene', it was a 'love scene'. This is how healing happens, by replacing bad memories of something that happened with good memories of the same thing. Andy will have to do the same thing in response to being raped by his uncle. Again, this is how people heal from a bad experience of something good. It's all cognitive. It is about displacing the bad with the good. It is the THINKING and MEANING we give to something and replacing it with new thinking and meaning. We each assign VALUE to our experiences. We have to examine the FEELINGS of the experience, rethink our feelings about what happened and assign new and different values. i am happy with how Andy's counselor is working with him. I have worked with abused adolescents. I learned that the last thing I wanted to was to ask them how they were 'feeling' about it. That goes nowhere. It becomes a mindless rehashing of the experience over and over. Until you can INTERRUPT that cycle of reliving the events, there is no healing.

I love how the counselor is asking pretty much the same types of questions I would have asked the kids I worked with when I was a counselor. She is very cognitive in her approach, focusing on what Andy wants to talk about, asking him about his thinking and avoiding the quagmire of getting into his feelings (which is the typical approach to counseling found today). It's interesting that you know about this approach.

About labels... Humans like to label EVERYTHING! Like it or not, that's just how humans think. It's how we make sense of the world; how we distinguish one type of from another otherwise very similar thing. Imagine how chaotic our world would be if we didn't have a way of distinguishing an acid from a base, a dog from a cat or a criminal from a law-biding citizen, etc. The problem isn't with labels. The problem comes in when we attach VALUE to a label. The value we've attached to being gay or straight has changed dramatically throughout history. What used to be a crime is now protected by law. It used to be legal for a man to beat his wife, children, slaves and animals because they were legally protected as being his property. Enough said.

I think I can help with this discussion. Sexuality is simply about sexual attraction. If you're mostly attracted to the same gender, you're homosexual (gay). If you're mostly attracted to the opposite gender, you're heterosexual (straight). if you have a relatively equal attraction to both genders, you're bisexual. All of the other personality characteristics, likes and dislikes, are irrelevant to ones sexuality as they all can be found in people of either gender or sexuality. Hence, gay football players and straight artists. They seem to lean towards one sexuality or the other but they are certainly not exclusive to sexuality.

I'm still curious about 'Uncle Ray'. From what I remember from the story, he never actually did anything to Andy (Stefan). Yes, there was a little touching and holding but nothing that rises to the level of molesting. Is this the anchor that separates reality from fantasy for Andy?

I'm so glad that they found Dr. O'Shea for Andy. She's exactly what I was hoping for for Andy. She's letting Andy set his own pace and talk as much or as little about whatever he wants to talk about. That was the best way to start with Andy. It's also so cute that Andy thought that the chores list was just for him to get all done in one day. What a sweet, fragile and beautiful boy.

Xlerok... thanks for clarifying the incident with the explosion and smoke. Honestly, I didn't remember reading that. I guess my mind prioritized which details to pay attention to and that was not one of them. I am, however, still curious why James Ackerman did that... It just seems to be a puzzling loose end. I was an adolescent counselor for 20 years. There are a variety of ways to deal with PTSD and this post would go too long to even begin the options list. Anyway, I don't think that Andy needs a Psychiatrist. A good counselor, perhaps. But remember, Andy has a lot of issues to deal with. His mom abandoned him. His dad abused him and neglected/deprived him of much of what be considered normal upbringing as WE define normal. It's important to remember that Andy was not raised with a lot of expectations or an idea of what he 'should' have had. It's important not to create and try to treat issues for Andy that aren't there. I could go on and on. Mental health isn't always as clear as some of your readers suggest. Let Andy BE Andy... Let him decide what he needs help with. Let's not impose OUR ideas on what his life should have been like or what he needs help with. That would be wrong for Andy.

Great chapter... AGAIN! I have this nagging question that keeps popping up... Who set off the flash/smoke bomb in Andy's last school that allowed him to slip out of the window? It's like someone, even back then, was looking out for him. I hope that they handle Andy's story carefully at school and don't just blurt it all out, leaving Andy with an endless stream of questions that would be really rough on Andy.

I am often annoyed when I hear the titles 'Survivor' and 'Hero' tossed around when it often seems that so many of these people just managed to wait out their difficult situation until it changed, until they were rescued or helped out by others and, through no actions on their own, until it changed and/or improved to their benefit. Andy is a true survivor! And Andy is a true hero to anyone who has decided not to give up. When others would just give up, Andy persevered! He wanted LIFE, to LIVE whatever life he could, and DID absolutely everything he could to make his life as good as he could. He never asked for a hand out; never expected anyone to rescue him; never asked for anything he didn't work for. Andy is a true Survivor and a true Hero.

WOW, WOW, WOW! This is the break I have been longing for since the beginning of this story and has kept me coming back! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Andy FINALLY gets the break in life that he didn't even know he deserved. He finally has the ray of hope in his life that I, and I think all of your readers, have been hoping for 'ad nauseum' since the first chapter. Merry Christmas!

As usual, this chapter is pregnant with anticipation. Something has to give. Andy. although enjoying his newfound freedom is, again, just hanging on the edge of exposure. I'm looking forward to some change in Andy's life... He almost started to run again... Thank that he didn't. C'mon, man! You could carry this on for months and it's on the verge of being annoying. SOMETHING different has to happen, and PLEASE don't have Andy back on the road again. I'm anticipating that either Andy or Zander is going to come out to the other; that Andy will be forced for one reason or another to get honest about his past; that Zander's dad is going to help Andy find out what happened to his miserable, despicable dad; that Andy will finally experience relief from his past. I guess I'm hoping that there will be a few chapters about Andy learning about real life in the modern world, experiencing what normal kids experience, like with the movie and ice-skating. I was amused that Andy never had a Coke before and was surprised by the carbonation and sweetness of the beverage. It reminds me of the stories of kids raised by monkeys.

Hmmm... I dunno... It was a bit one-sided but I guess it worked out...

Hi Bill... I have been reading this story for the last couple of weeks and finished it just now. What a wonderful, beautiful story! Thanks for writing! Neal

As much as I'm enjoying this adventure, it's also wearing me down. I'm sure that you don't want to give anything away, but would you please give some indication of when Andy might get some relief from his torment, be able to tell someone his story and find redemption in his life?

I'm so sad... I really want Andy to get through this. I'm just on the edge of my seat waiting for SO MUCH to happen... Really, Parker, this is such a painfully and tense long arch in the story... How much can Andy and the rest of his new world endure. How much can your readers endure? PLEASE move this story along...

I just wanted to say HI... I'm following A-Z and Autumn. I can't seem to get into anything else and the stories I'm following aren't showing up in the 'Stories I Follow' section of my Account. HELP!

ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL STORY!!! I started reading this at CJ Summer and got pissed that I thought the story ended. Carlos assured me that the story would continue with 'Autumn' and I asked him if he posted on Gay Authors and he said that he did... His only condition for telling me that he posted on Gay Authors was that if I started reading there, I'd give him positive reviews. ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL STORY!!!!!!! Neal

OK... I finally figured out how this works. I started reading today. I tired to leave a review after Ch. 10, and then again after Ch. 11. So I finally figured this out. i just want to say that i am thoroughly enjoying this story. I almost quit after the first few chapters but I continued on and here I am at Ch. 13... Great story...