Learning Joy from Dogs without Collars: A Memoir

by Lauralee Summer

Learning Joy from Dogs without Collars is a memoir about growing up homeless. Lauralee Summer and her eccentric, idealistic mother move repeatedly in search of work and a better life, but most often find happiness and security only in their relationship with each other.
When she reaches junior high Lauralee and her mother set out for Boston in search of a better education. There Lauralee thrives under the care and guidance of Mr. Mac, becomes the only girl on the school wrestling team, and goes on to Harvard. Later, when she's nineteen, she finds her father and begins a relationship with him.
Learning Joy from Dogs without Collars is the story of a girl coming into her own, learning and understanding her place in the world. It is about the innocence and resiliency of childhood -- the space of joy that poverty is unable to demolish or diminish.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Biography, Dogs, Animals

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Lauralee Summer went from "Homeless to Harvard," as the newspapers put it, her story was re-told again and again in print, always with the journalist's spin of how she embodied the American Dream, as if she were living evidence that if one just works hard enough, anything is possible. Summer wrote this book because she wanted to put her own interpretation on her life experiences, because the media explanation left out too much about the crippling effects of poverty on people's lives and about the series of events which had to fall exactly right for her to have achieved what she did. Astoundingly, Summer does this without recrimination toward either of her parents and without the bitterness I expected. Her account of growing up homeless clearly describes the flaws of available services for the poor, but it somehow does so without becoming a sermon. The reality was that the same mother who would do things like move her across country on a whim with only a couple of hundred dollars to their name was the woman who taught her to find joy in books and plants and to be herself. Summer integrates these facts beautifully and creates within them a story that honestly combines the wrenching heartache of homelessness with the resiliency within us. I really enjoyed reading her story.

[Siyan Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is an amazing book, even thought I am not finish yet. Can you believe that she is the only one girl on the wrestling that can beat a man? Can you believe that she is homeless but still can get in to Harvard? I don't believe it until I read the book. Lauralee Summer separated with her father when she is not born yet. She grew up in a single family with her mother. Finding a job is not easy for her mother, so they needed to always move from one state to other. Her mother decided to move to Boston to seek for a better education for her daughter. They lived on homeless shelters because it is hard to find a cheap apartment when they first came to Boston. She attended to Quincy High School. With Mr.Mac’s helped and she become the only girl on the wrestling term and go to Harvard. I highly recommended people to read it. Even thought it doesn't have movie yet, but I hope the movie will coming out soon.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, Lauralee Summer has quite the story to tell! Known as the 'From Homeless to Harvard' girl, Summer had a very unconventional childhood and upbringing. She and her Mother were frequently homeless and living in shelters or government housing but she managed to get to and through university with the help of a teacher, her Mother and friends. A very eloquent, raw and inspiring memoir, Summer is able to reflect upon her life without faulting her Mother and Father for their failures during her childhood. I would reccomend this book to all of my friends as I greatly enjoyed it! A powerful read with a positive message of hope - particularly for those who are in similar situations to those that impacted Summer, though we can all learn from her.

[Yvonne Leutwyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed by the positive attitude the author and her mother kept up during all these hard years of being homeless and/or without work. I realized that being homeless means to carry your few possessions on you 24/7. I also think it's a respectable achievement for the author to get into Harvard on a scholarship and hard work, and her will to help other children in similar situations like hers. This book was a humbling success story. The rest of us should count our blessings and stop whining so much.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really? This chick went to Harvard? Then someone should have gotten her an editor. Terribly written. I'd wanted to read this for years, and was terribly disappointed. Very self-indulgent and whiny. I didn't make it all the way through, but I didn't have reason to believe the second half would be any better than the first.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

It got on my nerves at times. Sheds light on what it is like to be homeless from a kids perspective, but other than that, I didn't like it very much. It was all over the place, which may have been intentional. Nonetheless, it was annoying.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not even finish the book. I thought the author seemed extremely pretentious. It could have been a great story but unfortunately the book is very badly written.

[Shen Gao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew a book I grabbed from the literal side of the road would pull me in so much? I could not put it down. A remarkable memoir about a girl’s coming of age, living with her single mother, sometimes homeless. Eloquent and modest, she tells her story that touches on: her identities, her relationship with her mom (sometimes tumultuous), excelling in school as a child (partly due to her mothers intense attention on her and educating her outside of school), living in shelters and temporary motels, moving across the country, living in a foster home, finding a life changing mentor in high school, getting into Harvard, balancing what’s true to herself with the elite environment she was thrust in, & finding her voice and place in the world. Moreover, she doesn’t pretend that she’s special or somehow better because she went to Harvard, in fact, she recognizes that there were certain luck involved in the experiences she’s been through that led to where she is. Absolutely recommend. Her story deserved to be told.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was much too long. 4 pages to describe her bedroom walls as a teenager? More pages to how her mom decorated her hallway? I didn't hate this book, but the author could (should) have written her story to be about half as long.
It was interesting to hear her stories about being periodically homeless as a child. No child should have to endure that. I felt that her mother just couldn't be motivated to work although she had a child to take care of.
The author mentioned her intelligence soooo many times. I'm certain she is smart, but it came off as bragging and sometimes the tales didn't quite ring true.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me of Educated in that the author was basically set up for failure but somehow ended up attending one of the top schools in the world. How do they do it? I don't think I had read a firsthand account of homelessness before, and my heart broke for her and some of the people she encountered. It was jarring when she then talked about her father and his second home in Maui (how crazy was his life story too though?), and amazing that she forgave him so readily. A couple of chapters dragged (a bit too much about wrestling, something I know nothing about and don't care to know much about), but overall I was sucked in and found the book enlightening.

[Koya Rap · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can barely accept the fact that I read this book until page 150. I know that I am below average in comprehension, but this one gave me a terrible experience.

For example: " Why are your eyes yellow?"Or they say —"You have orange eyes." They are a mix of my mother's dark eyes and my father's bright blue eyes.

Okay??????

[Irena]

《流浪到哈佛》（美）萝拉莉·萨默。

以为看的是《风雨哈佛路》，结果发现不是的，而且电子书只有后半部分，又找来纸质书看。

文化遗产课程的麦克老师的教学方法好棒，感叹他们在高中时候就已经有了这么多的通识课程。一个好老师真的可以改变学生的人生轨迹。

看到练摔跤的时候，莫名想到《摔跤吧，爸爸》，即使在美国，她所在的环境里练摔跤的女生也很少，队里一直都只有她一个女生。可想而知，在印度女生练摔跤需要克服多少困难了……

女主提到了很多次贫富差距，阶层，确实存在，但是还是不能自卑啊，有些事情有客观因素，但是很多时候也取决于你自己怎么看待的。

没想到跟她父亲和解了，想到了主祷文里面的一句。女主76年的，不知道现在过的怎么样了。

[Sandra Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It’s about a mom and daughter team who live in homeless shelters. You’d might think this is a depressing topic, but somehow the author brings joy and light into her life. It’s a true testament to the human spirit.

[Indu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best things I have read in the last few months. The author is a friend of a friend and it was good to see him mentioned in the book.
I am a sucker rags to riches stories and personal triumph against odds. This one is a must read.

[Beth Stephenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and sometimes somewhat disjointed approach to memoir. So much to learn and absorb from this story. So much to appreciate of the author's own growing understanding and appreciation for the world that formed her.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young woman who was sometimes homeless as a child reviews her life in this memoir. Lauralee loves her mother and is trying to understand why they lived their nomadic life. Her mother is smart, values learning, is somewhat depressed and not able to organize her life or hold a job.

As I read I wondered if Lauralee will be able to break out of her mother's mold and change her future. While Lauralee is unhappy that she cannot dress like the other teen girls, she likes her mother's laissez faire attitude about whether she attends school.

With encouragement from teachers, Lauralee applies to Harvard, is accepted and then receives a lot of media attention for going from "homeless to Harvard". Lauralee differs in the way she thinks and her approach to life and learning from the other Harvard students. She often feels that Harvard has an "overwhelming atmosphere", and that she is "trapped" and "claustrophobic" there, as it differs so much from her earlier life.

During her years at Harvard decides that she will use her degree as a "catalyst" for change - to help others recognize the powerlessness of the poor and the homeless.

Learning Joy was a previous selection of my Tuesday book club. It gave me a different view of homelessness. I'm glad that I read it.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

So very Glass Castle-ish. This memoir consistently rang true. The author succeeded in drawing out of her past the deep emotion as well as the job of just being alive. She also made the news as one of the first females to marry another female in the state of Massachusetts! Harvard life was fascinating to me, and her wrestling experiences were told in great detail. As with the Glass Castle, I was fascinated by the mother, and when I finished the book this morning I went back and reread the chapter on her mother's life. This book should be required reading for college-bound kids. Still not sure what to make of the father. Read it and let me know.

[Xenia0201 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing that struck me while reading this book is that Lauralee is amazingly sensitive for the life she had. You would think that a childhood of living in shelters and on welfare would harden someone. You would think that being abandoned by your father would harbor a lifelong resentment. Despite all she had against her, Lauralee goes on to achieve some amazing things. It's an almost unbelievable story...which is why I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. It's worth the read to judge for yourself.

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful memoir about a girl who grew up homeless with her single-mother. In and out of shelters, living with relatives, living in foster homes. Lauralee never looses her sense of individuality or intelligence and eventually gets a scholarship to Harvard where Lauralee battles her feelings about the haves and have-nots. Kind of wordy in the beginning, but after the first chapter, her writing finds its groove. Book #58 of my 2005 Book List, finished reading it on 12-21-05.

[Charise Nulsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt a bit resistant to continuing the book for the first couple of chapters, but I'm very glad I kept going. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a particular interest in homelessness, education, and mother/daughter relationships. I also think this would be a great summer reading book for high school students. I'm looking forward to meeting Lauralee Summer at an event on 11/18 in Boston!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm three-quarters done with this memoir, and I like it a lot. The bleak moments of homelessness are alleviated by occasions of success, and who doesn't love a true story of resilience? Lauralee Summers is also a wonderful example of nonconformity, for she is the only girl at her high school on the wrestling team. I will definitely recommend this book to high schoolers.

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 1 out of 5]

i read almost a hundred pages of this book and just couldn't get interested in summer's story. i felt that she made excuses for her mother milking the welfare system and had to mention her brilliance a little too often. i know she got into harvard, but there is a little arrogance in her tone throughout the pages i read.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a memoir about a girl who grew up homeless. This book is very good, and I've read it twice. You get a real feel of what she is going through. Despite her hardships, she gets accepted into Harvard. A must read.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read, a good story. She's aware of herself as the semi-classic "Homeless to Harvard"-type case (and literally, in this situation) and has reasonable perspective accordingly. Didn't fundamentally change my views on anything but was enjoyable to hear how she saw and experienced things.

[Brenda Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a while ago. It's amazing how some kids excel without any support systems at all while others flounder in the face of opportunity. This book made me grateful for everything I had while making me feel discouraged that I didn't make the most of my life.

[Ellen Downer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book, great story of perseverance against all odds. It did remind me of another similar story (Glass Castle) & in both cases I just want to "change" the parenting so life will be easier for the children!

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daughter raised by homeless mom; wrestling; got eventually to Harvard; poetical and hard to read/understand (for me) sometimes. Somewhat interesting. Sad how parents' choices affect kids for their entire lives.

[Lizeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read it in Literature of homelessness class

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. It wasn't a book I couldn't put down but it definitely made me think about my impressions of homeless people.

[Lynn]

not the book i was looking for, but this sounds awesome