That Mean Old Yesterday

Stacey Patton was a ward of the State of New Jersey since she was a baby.  At the age of five, Stacey was removed from the foster care system and adopted by a middle-class African-American couple from suburban Trenton.  Appearing to be the perfect guardians for Stacey, Myrtle and G welcomed her with love and open arms; but little did she know that her young life would soon be one of fear, abuse, and survival. In her failed attempt to murder her adoptive parents, Stacey came full circle with life and realized the full worth of her existence.  That Mean Old Yesterday is an exceptional story of a young Black girl's fight to find answers about her womanhood, culture, and purpose in life. 


I found this book highly invigorating; it is definitely a page turner from the very beginning. It is extremely informative about the secrets, lies, abuse, and processes that occur within child welfare systems and educating regarding African American slavery and its repercussions that many in the Black community still possess. 
---b-flat bella


(Below is a synopsis of the book...if you want to know what happens, continue reading...if not, GET THE BOOK!!)

Educated in Catholic schools and reared in the Holiness Church by her tyrant of a mother, Myrtle and her docile father, George. Stacey was considered one of the lucky ones to have left foster care and be adopted.  Myrtle and George were Southern people and George was a part-time minister.  They believed that children were meant to be seen and not heard and if Stacey crossed the line, she was severely punished.  Although she was a good student she never could please her adoptive mother.  Myrtle was Stacey’s Master and she walked on eggshells every day of her life in that house of fear.  The nuns at the Catholic school ignored her bruises and “accidents.” They also ignored the sadness in her eyes and the fear that set her apart from the other children.   

One day when she had more than she could take, Stacey ran away from home.  After twelve years of waiting for someone, anyone, to come save her, Stacey bolted and walked out of that Myrtle’s  house with freedom on her mind.

The author uses the experience of slavery to compare her life to while in Myrtle and George’s care.  So the book becomes more than just a memoir, it becomes  also a lesson in African American history and the story of people of color as slaves in America.  Patton believes that when African Americans whip their children they do not understand the historical roots of the practice and itsnegative impact on African American children’s development.

Finally, finding a safe haven at the police station; her abuse became apparent to the police officers and the state welfare system.   She was given a choice to either return to her abusive adoptive parents or to become a ward of the state again and be placed in a group home.  Patton choose the group home.  The restoration of her life began to take place based on her indomitable spirit and her refusal to give up.  She turned the tables on the system and earned a full scholarship to a prestigious private prep school.   She was determined to be prepared to enter an Ivy League college upon graduation. Despite being discouraged by the staff at the group home and her therapist; Stacey pushed on and continued to be a gifted student excelling in both academics and athletics.  Stacey Patton focused on healing, forgiveness and forging an identity of her own.  

What she has written in That Mean Old Yesterday is a story rife of life’s disappointments of tragic proportions; yet she emerges triumphant.  She wins her fight to become whole.  Now a Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University and an award winning journalist, Stacey’s story is told in an effort to encourage us to carefully consider our treatment of our children and our history as slaves in America.   This book will open your eyes to the realities of child abuse in even the most prestigious African American communities. -- Idrissa Uqdah

Watch Stacey Patton read an except from That Mean Old Yesterday