When She Comes Back
Ronit Plank
(Author)
Description
Abandoned By Her Mother
Ronit was six years old when her mother left her and her four year old sister for India to follow a cult guru. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, whose commune was responsible for the largest biological attack on U.S. soil, preached that children were hindrances and encouraged sterilizations among his followers. Luckily Ronit's father, who'd left the family the previous year, stepped up and brought the girls to live with him first in Newark, New Jersey, and later in Flushing, Queens. On the surface, his nurturing was the balm Ronit sought, but she soon paid a second emotional price, taking on the role of partner and confidant to him, and substitute mother to her sister. By the end of her childhood, Ronit would discover she had lost her mother and the close and trusting relationship she once had with her father. Though they have had a relationship now for years, she grappled with the toll her mother's leaving took, measuring her self-worth by her absence.
When She Comes Back is the story of a family trying to find itself, grownups who don't know how to be adults, and the pain a child feels when she discovers that her love for her mother is not enough to make that parent stay. When She Comes Back is also a story of resilience and reconciliation, how rejection by the most important person in Ronit's life ultimately led to an unflagging commitment to, and love for, her own children.
Product Details
| Publisher | Motina Books |
| Publish Date | May 11, 2021 |
| Pages | 230 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781945060199 |
| Dimensions | 9.0 X 6.0 X 0.5 inches | 0.8 pounds |
Reviews
An intimate, intuitive, emotionally vivid family account that finds hope in reconciliation. - Kirkus
Artfully written, When She Comes Back is the powerful account of Ronit Plank's childhood, from her earliest years of communal living within an Israeli kibbutz, to the tumultuous years in NYC while her absent mother followed Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the guru and now infamous sex-cult leader from the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country. In this fascinating coming-of-age memoir, Ronit Plank poignantly explores the resilience of a child longing for her mother and ultimately leads us along her path to reconciliation. When She Comes Back is a stunning debut. - Jason Allen, Author of The East End
When She Comes Back tells the almost unbelievable story of a girl left behind by a mother who fell into the thrall of one of the most infamous cult leaders of the 20th century, following the Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh to India, then the doomed Oregon featured in the documentary "Wild, Wild Country," while her two young children grew up in the company of various relatives and a father who wasn't finished growing up himself. Despite the extraordinary circumstances of her childhood, Plank's story will feel relatable to anyone who has ever wondered if their family is "normal," or experienced the more routine childhood trauma of divorce. Empathetic, richly detailed, and self-aware, When She Comes Back is a heartbreaking, hopeful story about loss, resilience, and growing up too soon. - Erica C. Barnett, Author of Quitter
"A beautifully written and wrenching story of abandonment and resilience, When She Comes Back grabbed me by the heart. I could not put this powerful memoir down." - Aspen Matis, bestselling author of Your Blue Is Not My Blue and Girl in the Woods
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