Townsend Library.

"Illustrations by Hal Taylor"

When her mother died in a fire, eight-year-old Jerri thought life couldn't get worse. She was wrong. Sent to live with people who didn't want her, Jerri was powerless to stop her once-happy childhood from becoming a nightmare of cruelty and neglect. Only a stubborn belief in her own worth and a fierce will to live allowed her to reach adulthood physically and emotionally intact. This is a book that will inspire not only those who have been orphans or foster children, but anyone who has known the pain of being unwanted. - Back cover

870L

In the beginning -- Coal cellar : ages 8 to 10 -- Orphanage : ages 10 to 12 -- First foster home : the wrong decision : ages 12 to 13 -- Second foster home : ages 13 to 14 -- Back at the orphanage : ages 14 to 17 -- the college years : ages 17 to 24 -- Theconvent years : ages 24 to 34 -- My emergence into life : age 34 to present