Far From the Tree

One day at school, Joaquin’s guidance counselor calls him into her office and gives him an article titled “Tips for Phasing Out of Foster Care” (283). Joaquin is turning 18 in just a few months, and as he considers his future, he finds himself more lost and confused than ever. During his therapy session with Ana, he tells her he decided not to let Mark and Linda adopt him. Ana challenges this decision, and she guesses that Joaquin is “afraid that they’ll disappoint [him], so [he] shut it down before [he] could take a chance and get hurt” (284). Joaquin tells her about his altercation with Adam and how he told his sisters about what happened with the Buchanans. He compares the experience to riding a bike with training wheels: “Like [he] was falling, but then [he] didn’t” because “they were there” (287).

Ana starts to cry because she is so proud of Joaquin and his progress, and she tells him that Mark and Linda can also be his training wheels if he lets them. When Joaquin returns home to Mark and Linda’s, he sees a strange car in the driveway and thinks that a social worker has come to take him away.