Shenandoah shares her story in her book, Garbage Bag Suitcase. Describing the book is so hard because you don’t want to use words like, “good,” or “great,” or “captivating.” Because although it is, those words are not grave or weighty enough to describe the contents contained within its pages. No one cared if I disappeared forever.” It was the first time she remembers feeling that way, but it was certainly not the last. Shen says that lying in that hospital bed, she wished each time she fell asleep that she wouldn’t wake up. She spent weeks in the hospital, with only the occasional check-in from her foster family. That was the last time Shen ever heard from her. “This could have turned out much better if you’d have died,” it read. She woke up alone in the hospital, with a letter from her mother on her bedside table. At 17, she was in a terrible car accident. Shenandoah was still alone in the world, with nobody to love her. The pattern of neglect and isolation continued. They provided a roof over her head and food, but not much else. Shen’s foster parents used her as a a source of income. Unfortunately, once in foster care, her story didn’t get much better. At times, her stuffed animals were her only friends, and her mother and stepfather starved her as a means of discipline. Prior to that her life had been filled with neglect, abuse, and isolation. Shenandoah Chefalo was 13 when she first went into foster care.
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