In a powerful and harrowing life-story of deprivation, suffering and ultimate overcoming, one woman's personal struggle is depicted in raw, often brutal detail. This complex testimony of living in a dysfunctional family, with physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a volatile but clever stepfather with the verbal skills to talk his way out of trouble, leaves no scenes off limits. Mistreatment from an early age, deceit and betrayal by one parent and passive complicity of the other, make for challenging reading. Institutional failings and lost opportunities to intervene are laid bare as a life heads into a downward spiral of petty crime, drugs and declining mental health. The candour and courage of the author's recollections should serve as a warning to the curious onlooker and her ultimate vindication in the search for justice as an inspiration to those similarly affected.