The Covered Smile: A True Story

By Sonja Lauren

Book Overview

The Covered Smile is a story of abuse, neglect, recovery, forgiveness and triumph. Even though dentists described her case as hopeless due to neglect, Sonja survived surgical removal of most of her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883911524
• ISBN13: 9781883911522
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Brandylane Publishers, Inc.
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A passion to educate...

In The Covered Smile, first-time author Sonja Lauren shows her reader a new dimension of childhood neglect. By the so-tender age of 13, a child of poverty in a small West Virginia town, Ms. Lauren had all her teeth surgically extracted. The author believes she may be the youngest child ever to have this experience and her passion to educate so that others will never know her trauma emanates strongly from the pages of this slender book. Ms. Lauren begins her memoir at her "moment of truth"--27 years old and in her dentist's office. Because her current dentures are ill-fitting, embarrassing, and causing both speech and eating disorders, she believes that new dentures will resolve her problems. Thus she is completely unprepared for the shocking facts she hears. She no longer has enough bone in her jaw to support dentures, will need several expensive implant surgeries over the course of a year, and then will require much more expensive dentures to connect with the implants. In shock, pain, and deep anger, she goes home wondering how she can afford her needs. Her long-suppressed childhood memories begin to emerge, and we journey back to her childhood home where, with grace, she shows parents unable to care for her and her younger sister. We meet her adopted older sister who has learned to cook and clean and bathe Ms. Lauren and her sibling. When her older sister marries and leaves home, it triggers the author's acting-out behavior. At age 6, she is diagnosed as a troubled child and, among other behaviors, begins to frequently suck on candy and chew gum as comforting devices. Clearly, the title is not only about hiding decayed teeth but also the demeanor of a neglected child. Ms. Lauren shows us the skills she developed in order to survive in a very literal way. One of her mother's dysfunctions was an inability (based in deep fear) to care for any illnesses or injuries her daughters sustained. Lack of self-care education at home and school led rapidly to one of the inevitable consequences--serious oral decay and infection along with other serious social consequences. In emergency situations, she describes her dentists. The first impatiently tells her mother that since the young Lauren will not care properly for her teeth, she should have them all pulled at age 16. In an emergency visit not long after, another dentist angrily tells her parents that Ms. Lauren has been neglected and they are responsible for not assuring she properly cared for her teeth. Decades later, the author's search to re-connect with her history leads her back to the dentist's chart note from that day--"Absolutely the worst dental case I have ever seen." Lauren does an excellent job of showing her reader how a neglected child experiences the parent/child relationship in reverse. The chapters progress with a primary focus on her dental experiences as a child, move into her pre-teen extractions, and continue with the lonely, bloody aftermath of two oral surgeries. Ultimately,

Amazing Journey

Sonja's journey through life thus far has been a difficult one, but she has been able to turn all of her adversities into life-affirming experiences. She is a loving, caring and forgiving individual and the perfect example of the meaning of Romans 5:3-4("....we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.")Her book is an eye-opening story all parents and medical personnel should read.

The Covered Smile

The Covered Smile, by Sonja Lauren-I read this book in two days, I could not put it down. It is a story of survival and triumph of the human spirit over poverty, neglect and pain. As a counselor, it brought home to me just how much impact we can have on a child's life for better or for worse.

this story willl make you cry and laugh

This book tells of a young child who survived terrible neglect. Most dont realize neglect comes in all forms. This book will have you crying with the author and then happy that she has survived!!! I recommed this book to everyone. This book will open your heart.I hope you enjoy as much as I.

"The Covered Smile" My heart will never be the same!!!!

This book is a book for everyone young and old. It will make you think of all the pain that was in this womans life and how amazing she is and how many people she can help. Her story is heroic that she can share her suffering to better someone elses life. I personally want to thank her for her beautiful spirit that has made me want to be involved in the fight against neglect. I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a book you can't put down till you know the end. I look forward to more books on the fight on neglect from this very talented author.