Sunny, Ward of the State: Calamity Strikes a Family During the Great Depression

This is quite an unusual book, one of the best I've read in a long time. In addition to its compelling true story, the writing is superb. The author(Sunny) has taken a gut-wrenching tragedy that befell her and her family during the Great Depression and sprinkled it liberally with unaffected humor and quirky insights into a child's-eye view of tragedy. What could have been a schmaltzy tale of woe is instead a warm, at times excruciatingly funny read. The chain of events, covering a period of two years in the 1930's (with some flashbacks to World War One) is brilliantly recalled by the author in charmingly descriptive detail. You won't find this book in your local bookstore, however, because it was published by a print-on-demand company and bookstores shun such books. What a pity, because this fine book is being overlooked by millions. But perhaps not for long, because I discovered that the School Library Journal, a magazine for high school librarians, has included "Sunny" on its annual list of best books, in this case 2005, recommending it for both adults and teenagers. Further research has disclosed that the book is popping up on "required reading" lists in some high schools.

Sunny, Ward of the State is a book I've read cover to cover at least three times and dipped into randomly more times than I can count. It is a vastly comforting story with many lessons in it (for me, at any rate). It's a story about humanity at it's bumbling best (which is pretty much all we can hope for). It's a story about muddling through by dint of will and courage and love. And it's true. Sonja Heinze Coryat was Sunny, a six year old child of German immigrants whose small world was her oyster when her mother was diagnosed with advanced tuberculosis. Sonja's world and that of her brother and two sisters rapidly disintegrated into chaos and horror as their father struggled unsuccessfully to hold the family together when their mother had to be hospitalized indefinitely. In the middle of the Great Depression, immigrants who could barely speak English had few options in the best of circumstances. Sunny's Pop had to surrender, finally, his kids to the State. What ensues is heroism. The kids and their father and their mother were heroes, all - no question about it. Not surprisingly, Sonja recalls all of it, in her plainspoken way - sometimes with anger and sadness, often with humor, always with love.

Sonja Heinze Coryat vividly recounts her childhood, from growing up in the German neighborhoods of New York with her family, to the time she spent as a Ward of the State. She evokes the wrenching illness of her mother that led to her family's difficulties and her memories are played out against the backdrop of the Great Depression. What is amazing about this singular tale of a tragic childhood is that Sonya brings to the pages of her book not primarily the pain and sadness, but the warmth and humor of her early years. When I finished the book, I just had to smile at the enduring image of her father presenting her with furniture for her first child that he "just got". SUNNY Ward of the State is an inspiring story of one family's triumph over adversity.

I thought this book was excellent. A gentle, sad story written in a witty, intelligent way. Not only does the reader get to feel the experience of Sunny's childhood, but they also get a lesson about life in the early 20th century. 5 stars all the way...

"Sunny, Ward of the State" is one of those books you've got to keep reading. It's a true story of an immigrant family during the Great Depression and their major problems: The mother gets TB and is put into a sanitarium, the four kids have to go to children's homes, and the father is at his wit's end. It's beautfully written and the story is skillfully told, often in the voice of a 6-year old child. It's not a tear jerker but has a lot of quirky humor. I liked it better than "Angela's Ashes." This is the kind of book America needs today, to remind them of this historical era and how people used to cope with adversity. I hope the author writes a sequel.