The Josh Manely Mystery Characterizations Series

Josh Manely by Josh Manely

Josh Manely is the protagonist and main character in Orphans Inc. and evolving YA/NA mystery/crime series. This essay is his final assignment in English 12 before graduating high school, and just before he began investigating the disappearance of his best friend, Zack Allenby. This is Josh's backstory, and my way of getting to know the main character of my novel, his approach to life, and his mental state.

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Final Essay Assignment - Grade 12 English – June 3, 2002

My Life until Now, by Josh Manely

Eighteen years ago, at exactly this time, I was ten hours new.

Mostly everyone I know starts their stories with the first breath of air they take or first cries at birth, but not me. When I was ten hours new, I was already orphaned. No, my mother did not die in childbirth, or leave me on someone's doorstep and skip town, she just chose to put me up for adoption right away. That's it. There's nothing more, so she may as well have died in childbirth for all the difference it makes to me.

At ten hours new, my life started as an object of someone else's affection instead of my birth mom. That's when the Manelys first saw me. The Fates plucked me from my birth mom's womb at 3 AM, and by 1 PM in the afternoon, they put my newborn self on display in front of my soon to be adoptive parents. The Manely's need to have a child in their lives and my abandonment to adoption were perfectly timed. Luckily for me, Fate looked down on the Manelys and me and smiled that day.

My birth mom means nothing to me, but I can't shed the need to know why she gave me up so easily. That's what cuts so close to the bone. That's one scar on my soul that never faded.

Since the day we became a family I had a great home life; good food, lots of attention and family trips, and a really comfortable house. When I had difficulty learning to read, the Manelys brought in tutors to help me, they read to me every day and kept in close touch with my teachers after I started school. I seemed to be doing okay, so my problems in school were minimized. When I entered Grade 4, my real problems began.

When I tried to read aloud in class, my reading was awkward and stumbly. Sometimes I just stopped and couldn't continue. That's when the teasing began and that's when I started to shut down. School work became almost impossible to focus on and my embarrassment grew with every attempt to read. The harder I tried, the more I struggled even with help from tutors and my parents. The Manelys were worried, the teachers were worried, and I retreated into a shell like a scared turtle. Everyone with control over my life finally decided I had some real learning difficulties, so they called in the pros.

I was sent to a testing specialist who was supposed to be able to figure me out. I felt more like a laboratory rat than a kid with reading difficulties. When the test results were ready, my parents and I met with the person who tested me. Apparently I was DYSLEXIC, which meant I wasn't stupid or mentally disturbed, I just had difficulty reading and learning to spell because of the way my brain made sense of words. The good news, if you can call it that, was my problem was moderate rather than severe so I could be helped. She also found out I was smart and was able to do okay in school because I learned by listening and watching what was going on in class. She designed a plan so I could do better in school and feel better about myself.

Life in and out of school was mostly good after "the meeting," even if I was DYSLEXIC. I had friends to play with and great parents. Teachers treated me well and understood my difficulties with reading and spelling. I had assistance in class as I needed it. Dyslexia looked like it wouldn't be too much of a problem after all, at least not until Grade 5. That's when some kids in my class overheard my teacher, Mrs. Smith, talking about me and my dyslexia with another teacher.