New York - Present Day

Janice volunteers time at a local shelter showing young girls how to make jewelry. She recalls when she ran away from home at fifteen and got help at the shelter; it saved her life, and now she wants to give back -- to give the hope that she had received nineteen years ago.

The girls at the center call Janice the Bead Lady. She is told to treat everyone the same with no favorites. Janice lives with her boyfriend, Bill, who supports her volunteer work. Sam, a girl at the shelter, is a troubled young woman who has been on the streets since she was twelve years-old, and Janice becomes her friend. She looks forward to seeing her every week, desperately wanting to help her get into rehab and quit taking drugs. Janice identifies with Sam, who is intelligent and likeable, but her problems are much worse than Janice realizes. Although Janice does not use any hard drugs, she does smoke a lot of pot, particularly when she is nervous or upset. When Sam is in the hospital with an infection, Janice visits her every day, and Sam is pathetically grateful, but a week later, she ends up in detox after taking heroin and disappears from the shelter. Janice is distraught until she finds her in a psych ward. Will Janice be able to help this young woman find her way and to use her intelligence to make a better life?

A true story experienced by author Janice Erlbaum at a shelter in New York, she found herself identifying with Sam, a troubled girl who kept hoping for a better life, but didn’t seem to be able to reach out for it with any success. Sam has medical problems as well as being a junkie. Janice becomes obsessed with helping her, but doesn’t seem concerned that she is also escaping into marijuana every evening. Bill stays in the background, but readers will wonder why he puts up with Janice’s obsessive behavior. Is Sam playing with Janice? Why does she always sabotage her life just when she is going to get help? Does she manipulate everything the way she wants it?

Not usually reviewing real life tales, I wasn’t too sure I would enjoy reading HAVE YOU FOUND HER. I found the story sad, but to my surprise, I also found it intriguing and very interesting. Written in first person, it reads like a fictional tale with realistic conversation and excellent writing. Once I started reading, the book was difficult to put down -- I wondered how the story would end. Would there be a light at the end of the tunnel for either Janice or Sam? Or are they both destined for disappointment? Would their friendship endure with Janice always the giver and Sam the taker? What is Janice getting out of the relationship that bonds her so closely to Sam? All questions are answered in this absorbing and compelling book which has some surprises along the way.

Marilyn Heyman