Finding Fish: A Memoir, By: Antwone Fisher
By: Aniyah Walters
Acts of Resiliency
- Despite all the abuse inflicted upon Antwone, he remained resilient
- He continued to do things he enjoyed and was good at, like drawing and poetry
- Even told one of the staff at the shelter "you're going to read about me someday"-this was his affirmation and source of strength to keep fighting,despite everything he had experienced in his life
- Antwone still had the "will to be somebody" no matter what happened to him or how many times someone made him feel worthless. This helped keep the determination to keep living and striving for greatness
Brief Summary
Psychological Issues/Trends
Acts of Resiliency /Closing Application Question
- Antwone Fisher's military and writing accomplishments all portray the ways in which abused individuals can bounce back and rise above the world's expectations despite various challenges
- Reaction-Formation
- Regression
- Compartmentalization
- Desensitized emotions
- Depression
- Abandonment
- Extreme Shyness
- Memoir of Antwone Fisher's life
- Narrates his life starting from his earliest memories at around 3 years old
- He is orphaned as a baby-His father was murdered and his mother was incarcerated when he was born, and never showed any real interest in raising him
- Tells of his physical, sexual, and emotional abuse experienced as a "ward of the state" living with the Pickett family, who raised him for just about his entire life.
- Throughout the book he tells of his abuse, the effects of his abuse on his self-esteem, times of homelessness, depression, lack of any real, loving family dynamic
- Eventually, Mrs. Pickett kicks him out, bounces around from boys shelter, to reform school, to homelessness at the age of 17.
- He eventually joined the Navy and served for 11 years
- Antwone Fisher is now a successful screenwriter, poet, lecturer, and best-selling author.
Do you think resiliency in abused individuals
is a rarity, or do you think abused individuals
are more likely to become a product of their harsh environments and upbringings?
Physical/Emotional/Verbal/Sexual Abuse
- Antwone was molested by the Pickett family babysitter from about the age of 4 until he was about 10
- Foster mother, Mrs. Pickett constantly beat him and other foster siblings and called them derogatory names, belittled them, constantly reminded them that they weren't "real" members of the family
- No opportunities to learn good social/people skills, no encouragement, love, minimal positive praise/acknowlegement