Girl Unbroken: A Sister's Harrowing Story of Survival from the Streets of Long Island to the Farms of Idaho

Calcaterra (Etched in Sand) has previously written about her alcoholic and pathologically abusive mother, Cookie; now, , in this heartrending, brutal story told with bravery and strength. her youngest sister, Maloney, shares her memories of living with Cookie after the five siblings were split up and put into different foster homes. Maloney's beloved older sisters protected her from their mother's beatings and verbal lashings until Cookie kidnapped her and her brother from foster care and took them to Idaho. Maloney, pretty and smart, received all her mother's rage, her brother spared their mother's fists. Despite her sisters' tireless attempts to help, including a short-lived rescue, Maloney's salvation primarily came from school, where she retreated into books, got meals, and literally escaped to libraries and friends' homes after her mother married a predator who molested Maloney for years. She managed to thrive in school and was accepted into college, but the abuse she suffered pushed her to become a suicidal alcoholic. Fortunately, caring teachers saved Maloney and gave her a safe place to live. Maloney's happiness is unquestionably well-deserved, and demonstrates that with a powerfully fierce will and the help of loved ones, joy and peace are possible. (Oct.)