Ashley goes through so much bad luck with caseworkers and finding a foster home that she has no more faith in them, so when Ashley first meets Mary she thinks she is a caseworker and ignores her. Soon Ashley comes to realize what a big impact Mary Miller actually has on her and Luke’s life as Ashley says on page 118, “In the early days I thought that Mary Miller was a well-mannered woman who checked on our progress. Behind the scenes, though, she was our champion, and it would be years before I realized everything she had accomplished on Luke’s and my behalf.” What Ashley is trying to say is that Mary Miller is who got her to where she is. She is the first one that actually begins to listen to Ashley and Luke, and provide for their needs. She has a big role played in the memoir in my opinion, because she is as I would say, Ashley’s companion whom supports her throughout the rest of her years until she is finally adopted. She cares for Ashley as my mother or any parent cares for their child even if you don’t always like or agree with them at the