From a young age, the author and her siblings were raised in an unsafe environment. Family members agreed to take care of them in the absence of their birth parents, but what nobody suspected was that they would be cruel and abusive in the process. Once the school system intervened and notified child protective services, the siblings were split up and moved into a foster community where they could be raised by group parents along with other children. The heartbreak, loneliness, doubt, and confusion eventually give way to an appreciation of structure and diligence that was otherwise missing in her life, allowing the author to find love, success, and start a family of her own, and to learn the lessons from her youth. This story of the challenges and benefits of foster care shows just what growing up in this way is like for young children.

The level of memory recall and emotional detail gives this autobiography great power and weight, communicating difficult, complicated feelings for children or teenagers to work through. While the process is far from painless, the author's unique situation, where she was able to reunite with her siblings and mother as a teenager, only to discover she was missing the structure she needed, will be revelatory to readers who have never had such an experience. Readers can be assured that the author's perspective and appreciation for her upbringing, paired with the family she is able to raise herself as a mother, offer an uplifting and inspiring story that is emotionally honest and unfiltered. Offering a glimpse into one way in which children can be raised when the birth family cannot be relied upon, this memoir demystifies and gives due respect to the adults who step in to raise and love children.

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