How Far Will They Go?

Vanishing Acts

                                                                     Spoiler Alert!

In 'Vanishing Acts' by Jodi Picoult, it is really proved to you how far a parent will go to help their child. Especially when Arthur is accused of kidnapping.

Delia probably felt like she had lived a normal life, just without a mother. She had a loving dad, two best friends, and a house in the suburbs. But when her father is accused of kidnapping her, Delia's world turns upside-down. She finds out that her mom is, in fact, still alive and well and living in Arizona. What she finds out is that her dad kidnapped her when she was four, because her parents were divorced and her mother was a drunk. Arthur knew that he was facing huge charges when he left Arizona, but he went anyway for Delia's sake. I think that he wanted Delia to have the best life possible, and for him, that wasn't with her mom. So he risked a lifetime in jail for his daughter. 

Another example is when Delia held off from saying yes to Eric's marriage proposal. She loved him, and they had been best friends since preschool, but she didn't accept, not until he stopped drinking. She says in the book that it was because she hated the smell of alcohol, but I think that it is partly because she had seen Eric's mom drunk when she was a kid and hated it, and she wanted what was best for their child. They didn't get married until he had stopped drinking. 

This connects to my life because I know that parents do things every day for their kids, in order for them to have a better life. It might be something small, like giving their kid the last bit of ice cream when they want it for themselves. But it could be something extreme, like sacrificing their own life for their child's. They are constantly trying to make our lives  the best they can, no matter what the cost.