Leslie Morgan Stein Thesis

“Cray Love” is an autobiography written by Leslie Morgan Stein, recalling her life and her struggles throughout her abusive relationship. Leslie Morgan Stein grows up in Bethesda Washington in the 1980’s, in a rich family. Her father is a busy lawyer, and mother a tragically gorgeous alcoholic. Stein graduates from Harvard, and soon after becomes a journalist for Seventeen Magazine, in New York City. All of this before she met Connor. Stein has many influences in her life that strengthened her, and led to the impact she has on the world today. Her mother’s deep struggle with alcohol and drugs, and her father’s inability to care for her, influenced her, and brought challenges that she had to overcome in order to make the impact that she did. Every day her mother would fight her struggles from depression with a bottle of alcohol, while her father would seclude himself. “On weekdays my father hid at his law office downtown and my mother tossed back rum and cokes at our home in Bethesda.”(Pg.17) As Stein watched her mother struggle; she was influenced to take up these bad habits, in an attempt to numb herself as well. Steins addiction to drugs and alcohol began at the age of twelve, stealing Marlboros from her
She had many challenges to get by in order to succeed. One of her biggest challenges was willing herself to leave Connor and dissolve her love for him, for good. From the restraining order, to the divorce court, Stein struggles with her feelings of devastation. When Stein realized the denial she had throughout the relationship, and the clear signs of abuse that were shown, she felt immense embarrassment that she had not left sooner. “Right then I knew, I was done with Connor for good. No matter how sorry I felt for him. No matter how much I still cared.”(Pg.310) Steins greatest challenge, with the greatest impact, was facing what she was scared to admit all