American Daughter: A Memoir

Author: Stephanie Thornton Plymale
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: River Grove Books, 2020
Rating: 296

Synopsis: No one outside her immediate family would ever have guessed that her childhood was fraught with every imaginable hardship: a mentally ill mother who was in and out of jails and psych wards throughout Stephanie's formative years, neglect, hunger, poverty, homelessness, truancy, foster homes, a harrowing lack of medical care, and ongoing sexual abuse.

Stephanie, in turn, knew very little about the past of her mother, from whom she remained estranged during most of her adult life. All this changed with a phone call that set a journey of discovery in motion, leading to a series of shocking revelations that forced Stephanie to revise the meaning of almost every aspect of her very compromised childhood.

Review: So heartbreaking, but so well told. This made me grateful for my parents, my childhood, and it affirms that I'm doing okay with my own children.