Ed Abreu remembers the difficult times at the Saint Agnes Convent Home for Boys in New York and the experiences of two brothers in the foster care system over a 12 year period.
"For children who are victims of many intense, terrible, abusive experiences at an early age, life becomes a series of half-dream and half-waking states, with no beginning or ending. Each day blends into the next and most are forgotten except for those extreme moments when a catastrophic physical and emotional experience leaves its scars upon their mind, heart, and body."
Gabriel and Carlos had soaked it up to become the men they were––way before the age of most men with half their knowledge.
The Years of Tears shows these survivors struggle in the mainstream of society. Their scars are the reminders of their continuing struggle. Their quiet struggle goes unnoticed, except for those whose lives are touched by their successful transition back into the world of the living.
