Lisa's Journal

The memories of a 15-year-old girl in 1988

By: Frank Simmons

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 28 mins

Publisher's summary

My name is Frank Simmons, the older brother of Lisa Simmons. In the summer of 1988 I found my sister sitting in her room complaining of how bored she was, as 15-year-old are prone to be. I told her she was to start writing a journal, one entry per day, and I gave her a Steno Notebook to put down her thoughts, memories or what happened that very day. I told her I would pay her an allowance if she complied. She did as I asked since I was her father-figure, so to speak. Our parents had divorced when she was only seven and I was twenty-one at the time. I took on the mantle of taking care of my mother and sister, which in those days it was an expected duty by society of that time period. So, after some moaning and groaning, she complied with my wishes. The following entries have been left exactly as she wrote them in her journal, with the exception of name changes to protect the identities of those so named in her journal. This was the mindset of a 15-year-old teenager in 1988. For those who were themselves a teen around that time period, it might bring back memories of your own experiences, and for those not of that time, it can give you some insight into what your mother may have thought and felt during her early year’s.