This is the heart wrenching story of a little girlwho braves her mother's anger, rejection and abuseduring her formative years.It is a story of America's shame--the dirty secretof child abuse that hides in homes all over thecountry.Each page of the book holds the reader's rapt attentionas the words vividly relate the fear and pain that cloudthe innocent world of a small child whose only sin wasbeing born.The author has woven the truth of her childhood, fromages four to nine, into an 'on the scene' view of herexperiences of lonliness, despair and sadness mixedwith her self-determination, self-reliance and courageto survive.