Razing Ruth has a new blog post up.

[marmalade]

Pretty much just wanted to assure us she's okay, just busy. She's also graduated; early, I think. She and "Rachel" are living together in a trailer of some sort that is going to be a bitch to cool, but other than that, life is pretty drama-free.

Good on her for making it through school. Given her history, quite a feat.

[Lillybee]

Congratulations to Ruth for graduating. I hope that her major will help her find a decent job.

[library_youth]

I was glad to see an update from her. I hope her job search goes well.

[BravaAmica]

Okay, now I'm doubting Ruth. A few days after FJ mentions she's not posting on her blog, a new blog post is up. That she indirectly responds to, "some are saying I just write when there's drama going on." And she living in a camper... much like the subject of a popular post here. Maybe I'm just being cynical.

I do hope if she goes ahead with her book idea that the publisher triple fact checks it.

[Angri-la]

So happy for her! Getting an education is amazing, and I know she had to sacrifice much to achieve it.

Ruth: I hope all of your hopes and dreams come true, and congratulations for doing this for yourself and your future. You are an inspiration to other women, and I thank you for your brave sharing of your story. You have given a voice to many women who have none.

I am not going to indulge the doubt talk. Perhaps not every detail is exactly as it happened, but having had a similar background on a few levels as Ruth, she has insight she wouldn't if she hadn't been there. I wouldn't have the ovaries to put my story online for the constant questioning.

There are far more questionable things going on on the internet. Check out the Warrior Eli Hoax if you want something that has been proven a fake! I like to out a fake, but Ruth isn't hurting anyone.

[BravaAmica]

So happy for her! Getting an education is amazing, and I know she had to sacrifice much to achieve it.

Ruth: I hope all of your hopes and dreams come true, and congratulations for doing this for yourself and your future. You are an inspiration to other women, and I thank you for your brave sharing of your story. You have given a voice to many women who have none.

I am not going to indulge the doubt talk. Perhaps not every detail is exactly as it happened, but having had a similar background on a few levels as Ruth, she has insight she wouldn't if she hadn't been there. I wouldn't have the ovaries to put my story online for the constant questioning.

There are far more questionable things going on on the internet. Check out the Warrior Eli Hoax if you want something that has been proven a fake! I like to out a fake, but Ruth isn't hurting anyone.

That's true. She is not hurting anyone. And I'm sure it's just my own cynicism rearing its ugly head.

[Guest Anonymous]

Okay, now I'm doubting Ruth. A few days after FJ mentions she's not posting on her blog, a new blog post is up. That she indirectly responds to, "some are saying I just write when there's drama going on." And she living in a camper... much like the subject of a popular post here. Maybe I'm just being cynical.

I do hope if she goes ahead with her book idea that the publisher triple fact checks it.

To be fair, Ruth is a member of FJ and it would be surprising if she didn't at least notice her name being mentioned here, and acknowledge it over there. Living in a camper... well she is young and only just out of college - it is not a crisis situation, and she is not asking for help to be re-housed or anything.

[lilah]

Yeah given that she is living in California a camper might be cheaper than an apartment, especially a two bedroom apartment.

[stacyf]

Okay, now I'm doubting Ruth. A few days after FJ mentions she's not posting on her blog, a new blog post is up. That she indirectly responds to, "some are saying I just write when there's drama going on." And she living in a camper... much like the subject of a popular post here. Maybe I'm just being cynical.

Not getting into the real/not real debate but Ruth would be pretty stupid not to have a Google Alert on her name. I do because I like to read her blog but she posts so infrequently I hate to keep checking. When someone posts here it shows up on my Google Alert before her blog entry does.

[oscar]

A distressing number of my friends and relatives are living out of their vehicles right now. (Some of them have relocated for jobs, but don't have the money saved up for a rental once they get there. Others receive subsidized student housing during the school year, but are on their own for the summer months.) I don't suspect Ruth of fabricating that detail in response to the thread here, because it is so common.

[LilMissMetaphor]

It's all a little too pat for me.

[BlondeAsTheyCome]

Did anyone else find it a strange coincidence that Ruth is now living in a camper van, just like the very recent thread about Anna's sister Esther living in a pop-up camper?

However, I don't find it that strange that she would choose to post now because many of her readers are from FJ and there was the thread that was asking about her.

[Deleted06]

I don't find Ruth and Rachel living in a camper-van to be a strange coincidence. Things are difficult for many people in this country, Ruth and Rachel are just two of them. I'm very happy for Ruth that she is done with college and has a job. Hopefully a better job in her career field will open up soon. I have a secret hope that Rachel takes a page from Ruth's book and starts her own education process in the fall.

[kb2]

I bet she did write a blog post in response to the thread about her on FJ. But the thread was just wondering where she was, and if FJerites were wondering then non-FJ followers were too, so it makes sense to post a blog because it would be the most efficient way to reach the people who would care.

And also, maybe she read the thread about the pop-up trailer and had campers on the brain when she was thinking of what to say about her own life. It doesn't seem that weird that her life reflected FJ if she picked only a few things to mention and kind of subconsciously chose things that were already being talked about by the part of the internet she visits. Like, maybe if we'd started a thread about job searching she would have talked more about that.

[BlondeAsTheyCome]

kb2- That is a really good point about how she might have chosen to talk about her living situation because of Esther's being in the forefront. That isn't something that I had thought about before.

[contrary]

As a previous poster mentioned, Ruth is a member here. I'm not at all surprised if she posts, directly or indirectly, based on what she reads here.

Ruth, congratulations! Good on ya, girl.

[Witsec7]

Did anyone else find it a strange coincidence that Ruth is now living in a camper van, just like the very recent thread about Anna's sister Esther living in a pop-up camper?

However, I don't find it that strange that she would choose to post now because many of her readers are from FJ and there was the thread that was asking about her.

I mentioned this on a duplicate thread. Ruth's situation is a far cry from that of John Shrader and his family and certainly wouldn't turn a head here in Boregonia. College age women seek out affordable housing, I'm glad that Ruth and her sister found some in CA. Ruth and her sister are not living with 7 children in a camper. Think about it.

[Lillybee]

I believe Ruth, I have been following her from the times she posted on TWOP. I believe her. I can understand why she and her sister are living in a camper. Rent in most of California is extremely expensive. In my rural town, the least you can rent a two bedroom apartment is 800.00 and in the bay area, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and the LA basin, one can easily expect to pay close to 2k for a very modest 2 bedroom. Since Ruth has graduated, there are no more Pell grants and student loans, so I can understand the camper living.

Following Ruth is one of the reasons that I discovered FJ.

[Maude]

Whatever the truth, I only hope for the best for her.

[mrs]

Kinda off topic, but I do not think my question deserves its own thread.

1. Did Ruth ever own her domain name? I believe I read here that she did at some point.

2. If so, I think let she it expire? Which would make sense since she is on a tight budget, but she does have all those swag bucks(in all honesty I have no clue how those work).

I'm a fan of Ruth. I wish her nothing but the best. But I do worry about being mislead, and it saddens me .

[Esther]

I have no problem at all believing her. Sure, she's not divulging every single detail about her identity, but I wouldn't if I was in her situation, either. I think that if she was really lying to beg for money or something, she'd do so with a much higher frequency. I mean, all she did here was mention she lived in a camper. I don't think any of us is about to throw random cash at her because of that - after all, they're two adult women, as opposed to the Shraders who have seven small kids.

Ruth, I wish you all the best. Hope you find a really nice job soon. :)

[Guest Anonymous]

Kinda off topic, but I do not think my question deserves its own thread.

1. Did Ruth ever own her domain name? I believe I read here that she did at some point.

2. If so, I think let she it expire? Which would make sense since she is on a tight budget, but she does have all those swag bucks(in all honesty I have no clue how those work).

I'm a fan of Ruth. I wish her nothing but the best. But I do worry about being mislead, and it saddens me .

What saddens you exactly? The possibility of being mislead in what way?

Every time you read something by anyone online there is a possibility of being mislead - you'd live a very sad life if you let it get to you every time.....

[SisiL78]

Ruth still has siblings at home. I'm sure that whatever fear was instilled in her as a child still exists and revealing who she is might damage the life of those siblings.

BTW, folks like Mckmama gave their names and photos etc... and LOTS of details but were still lying so details and identity do not a truthteller make.

I think Ruth has a knack for courting trouble. She might even have a certain love of drama as her life has been so closed. I can identify with the broken leg and tonsils issue to some degree. A friend of mine ended up hospitalized three times in 18 months. A perfectly healthy young woman who had several out of the blue medical emergencies. There was also a lot of personal life based sh*t in this woman's life too. Some people are drama magnets.

That being said I know that the details were sketchy but I really really wish she hadn't broken up with Harris. I hate to say it but after her upbringing having a life partner (male or not) who could be a caretaker and shoulder to lean on would have been a blessing.

I hope for the best. Perhaps she can write a book, at least a fictionalized account, that would make her some income and help her help her sister and other siblings.

[ElphabaGalinda]

Ruth still has siblings at home. I'm sure that whatever fear was instilled in her as a child still exists and revealing who she is might damage the life of those siblings.

BTW, folks like Mckmama gave their names and photos etc... and LOTS of details but were still lying so details and identity do not a truthteller make.

I think Ruth has a knack for courting trouble. She might even have a certain love of drama as her life has been so closed. I can identify with the broken leg and tonsils issue to some degree. A friend of mine ended up hospitalized three times in 18 months. A perfectly healthy young woman who had several out of the blue medical emergencies. There was also a lot of personal life based sh*t in this woman's life too. Some people are drama magnets.

That being said I know that the details were sketchy but I really really wish she hadn't broken up with Harris. I hate to say it but after her upbringing having a life partner (male or not) who could be a caretaker and shoulder to lean on would have been a blessing.

I hope for the best. Perhaps she can write a book, at least a fictionalized account, that would make her some income and help her help her sister and other siblings.

I don't think it would have been a blessing to be married to someone she didn't want to be married to, whatever her reasons. That's what she escaped from. I think part of escaping her lifestyle also came with realizing she didn't need a caretaker, so I don't know if it's true but I was under the impression that's what Harris wanted to be, and she didn't want that. I think given her upbringing, having a caretaker would be the worst thing for her, because she was taught she couldn't function without one. I tend not to judge other peoples break ups in hoping they'll get back together, because if people don't want to be in a relationship they shouldn't, no exceptions.

[SisiL78]

I guess I didn't see it as not wanting to marry Harris. I saw it as more a fear of marriage. Then again she does not divulge any details and tends to refrain from anything that would be embarrassing others so I'm sure there's a lot I don't know as just a reader. I admire her for not hanging the dirty laundry of others (other than her father) out on the internet for everyone to see.