Far From Home: Dr. Grenfell's Little Orphan

by Nellie P. Strowbridge

Clarissa, eleven, has been orphaned by a disease that has kept her far from home for as long as she can remember. Despite the many inmates in Dr. Grenfell's Children's Home on Newfoundland's northern tip, she lives a lonely life. She longs to be able to do something as simple as pushing her feet into boots in a blink and skipping down the road holding hands with Cora, her best friend.

Will Clarissa get to go home? If so, what will she discover about her past that will help her understand why she spent her childhood at the orphanage? There are times when she is not sure if she wants to go home. What if she doesn't like anyone there? Worse—what if no one likes her?

The story begins in 1924 at St. Anthony, with flashbacks to earlier times. One bright memory is folded in a blue handkerchief, which is given to her by a kind nurse and carried to the end like a security blanket.

Shortlisted for the 2006 Newfoundland and Labrador Historic Sites Heritage and History Award.

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2004

Reviews

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time in a long time that I read stories about kids. A refreshing change from the usual fiction. I love Clarissa and the strength she showed despite her being crippled. I love the anticipation of a child in joining her family finally and experiencing what a real family is.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing itself is good, if you like that sort of thing. The descriptions of Canada's natural beauties were fine, but every heap of excrement or other bodily excretion, every act of unkindness, abuse and bullying, gets the same loving detail while the more pleasant moments are scamped over. In the afterword we are told that Strowbridge wrote this at the behest of the MC's family as a sort of memorial. Toward the end of the book we are told she was known for her "sunny disposition", but the author treats us to a constant inner dialogue of negativity.

There's no real storyline, just a year in the life of the orphanage/hospital where the MC spent most of her life dreaming of home. The mysterious box that bookends the rest of the tale is just a device, and poor one at that, serving no other purpose. The end is a bit too good to be true--suddenly the kids who have bullied and tattled on her all those years create one Hallmark Moment after another, telling her how much they admire her. Yeah, right. Because that's what bullies do. Not. I would have been more interested in the story of how she adapted to life after the orphanage, how she fit in with her family and got used to life in the real world.

Only thing in its favour: a fast, easy read. But not a pleasant one.

[Harold Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Orphan story...kinda.

[Jerry Cranford · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This book is involving, informative and refreshingly unsentimental regarding children who are often cruel to each other and certainly always merciless towards starfish and sculpins." -- The Telegram

"The whole book is studded with wonderful, fresh, rich words and phrases that stimulate, enrich and enlighten your understanding of life in the 1920s on this island." -- The Northeast Avalon Times

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story about a young disabled girl who grew up in an orphanage in NFLD.