Local author tells us “how loss and vulnerability generate passion and success”

Part I, “Longing to Be The Breck Girl,” provides the context for Part II. It is the genesis for how Simmons evolved from being mentored to being a mentor. The two themes that permeate the entire work are 1) how loss and vulnerability generate passion and success, and 2) how her passions and the exceptional mentoring she received from her educators enabled her to navigate the treacherous waters of her youth yet live a productive life as child, adolescent, and adult.
Simmons grew up in San Bruno, California, a small town the San Francisco Bay Area, during the forties and fifties. For years she lived in the shadows of an older brother and sister, both of whom were popular, attractive, and gifted artists. By contrast, Simmons was physically flawed with ADHD and congenital nystagmus, a condition that severely limited her vision. She had enough energy for twelve people and streaked through life as a lightening bolt, unlike her more poised, elegant siblings.
A victim of teenage acne, she used to stare longingly at the Breck Shampoo ads wishing that she, too, had beautiful hair and clear skin. In her mind, her sister was The Breck Girl who never suffered the awkward stages many adolescents endure.
Part I chronicles her struggles with self image and the aftermath of her sister’s drowning while they were on a double date to Montara Beach, south of San Francisco. The brother of her date drowned as well. The reader will learn how she dealt with the emotional trauma of her sister’s death and the grief of her parents that so overwhelmed them she unwittingly became the “left-over child” coping as best as she could without benefit of counseling outside the home or nurturing from within. Furthermore, her mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder during a time in which little was known about the disease. Because treatments were ineffective, she became increasingly hostile and dangerous even though she desperately wanted to be normal.
Despite Simmons’ dysfunctional home life, she loved being a teenager because she was engaged in passions that brought her joy. Also, she was blessed with wonderful friends. The worse things became at home, the more deeply she immersed herself in her three passions: music, athletics, and academics. By the time she graduated from high school, she had become an accomplished pianist, had lettered in all sports, and had performed well academically.
Simmons’ college professors were as nurturing as her high school teachers. The book reveals her relationships with four among them and how she flourished under their guidance. Between her BA and MA programs, she had the serendipitous opportunity to live in Japan for six months (Chapter 12, “Land of the Rising Sun”). The temporary reprieve from frenetic college life afforded her the luxury of exploring a foreign culture and language that left her changed forever.
By the time she returned to the states and finished her formal education at San José State University and U.C. Berkeley, she was ready to teach. It was her turn to mentor and she couldn’t wait to get started.
Part II, “My Turn to Mentor”
Part II, “My Turn to Mentor,” depicts her teaching style with nonfiction narrative that combines commentary, anecdotes, and students’ writings collected over a thirty-six year period. The bringing together of these elements and showing the classroom as a microcosm of society is what makes this work unique. Through commentary, citations, anecdotes, and Simmons’ own poetry, the reader will be shocked, entertained, moved to tears and laughter, and above all, will emerge with a new appreciation for how teachers and teenagers cope with their daily lives in an academic setting.
Another asset of this work is that it not only presents problems and solutions, but also, it dispels many misconceptions that lay people have about public school education by using Simmons’ own career with anecdotes as examples. Problems addressed include: How do teachers and students survive inner-city gang violence on campus? How can educators support and nurture those children who come from abusive or neglectful homes? How do young people deal with their lot in life as products of dysfunctional families? How do they survive being shifted from foster home to foster home? What are some causes for teenage depression, and should all depressed or hyperactive children be medicated? What has to be done by administrators and teachers when all else fails with willfully disobedient students whose parents or guardians are in denial? Simmons’ memoir provides answers to these and many more questions. Not all problems are solvable within the context of the classroom. However, with humor, knowledge, wisdom, love, and a holistic approach to teaching, many issues can be successfully put to rest.
What kept Simmons coming back year after year was the unpredictable nature of adolescent behavior. Just when she thought she had them figured out, they took her on hairpin turns in multitudinous directions. Part II of This Was Meant to Be, then, is a reflective endeavor that admits the reader into a world of pain and pleasure played out in classroom settings and concert stages. The voices of the young people who enriched the author’s life for over three and a half decades will be heard if the readers listen carefully and indulge themselves in the hunt for their magic.
With the demise of the American family and the increasing lack of quality time spent between parent and child, the timing for This Was Meant to Be could not be more appropriate. Those who work with our nation’s young people must continue to speak out on their behalf. The mantra, “No Child Left Behind,” may soon become, “Most Children Left Behind,” if society does not become more proactive in caring for the young.

By Linda Jones Simmons

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