Ten Thousand Saints, by Eleanor Henderson, is a truly moving and inspiring book. It tells the story of Jude, a teenage boy, trying to find himself amidst a whirlwind of drugs, family issues, pregnancies, and addiction. He goes from chaotically searching dangerous streets for money to satisfy his addiction, to taking control and becoming "straight edge;" clean, vegan, natural, and focused. Both of these lifestyles lead his personality in wild and unpredictable directions and decisions. I decided to explore the quirks, advantages, and disadvantages of each.
Jude as a clean, straight edge person seems altogether more focused and driven to achieve his goal; creating and leading a successful band, preaching straight edge values to audiences all across America. While managing this task, he is able to reconnect with his dysfunctional, drug loving family, and attain closure over his best friend Teddy's death. However, I believe that at my point in the book, straight edge is becoming a bit of an obsession itself. This makes sense, as Jude seems to needs control in his life after all he's been through. Straight edge is a time-consuming lifestyle that requires all of Jude's energy and focus, leaving him little time to think about Teddy. Sometimes, Jude can take it overboard by beating up and threatening druggies on the street, and almost killing a high school senior, Tory Ventura. At times like these, I want to jump into the story and remind Jude that the straight edge lifestyle is about peace and finding happiness not from substance, not about violence and shoving your ideas in others' faces.
On the other side of the equation is Jude at the beginning of the book: a lonely, wandering boy trying to find his true self among drugs and alcohol, with his best friend at his side. Obviously, drugs were an influence in Jude's life, and I think were a huge factor in his sudden change of heart and way of life. On drugs, Jude could not think clearly, and often made bad decisions, like huffing the freon that took Teddy's life. Drugs ruined Jude's chances of a good education, brought his family down, and caused Jude to steal money. However, Jude on drugs seems to be more kind and warm, and less severe and harsh. Prudence, his sister states " I liked you when you were on drugs. You were gentler, sweeter." Overall, being on drugs had many hill-valley like effects on Jude's personality, the people around him, and his world.
In conclusion, Ten Thousand Saints, by Eleanor Henderson is an unforgettable book that teaches many lifelong lessons, one of which I am finally able to absorb. I believe that while Jude was sweeter on drugs, and was more severe straight edge, straight edge is clearly the lifestyle necessary for his personality. It caused him to be aware of the people around him, and sparked some great ideas. As the Green Mountain Boys said "Clean is a dream."
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