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Girl Unbroken

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

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

In the highly anticipated sequel to her New York Times bestseller Etched in Sand, Regina Calcaterra pairs with her youngest sister Rosie to tell Rosie's harrowing, yet ultimately triumphant, story of childhood abuse and survival.

They were five kids with five different fathers and an alcoholic mother who left them to fend for themselves for weeks at a time. Yet through it all they had each other. Rosie, the youngest, is fawned over and shielded by her older sister, Regina. Their mother, Cookie, blows in and out of their lives "like a hurricane, blind and uncaring to everything in her path."

But when Regina emancipates herself as a minor and escapes, her siblings are separated. And as Rosie discovers after Cookie kidnaps her from foster care, the one thing worse than being abandoned by her mother is living in Cookie's presence. Beaten physically, abused emotionally, and forced to labor at the farm where Cookie settles in Idaho, Rosie refuses to give in. Like her sister Regina, Rosie has an unfathomable strength in the face of unimaginable hardship—enough to propel her out of Idaho and out of a nightmare.

Filled with maturity and grace, Rosie's memoir continues the compelling story begun in Etched in Sand—a shocking yet profoundly moving testament to sisterhood and indomitable courage.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 31, 2016
      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.

    • Kirkus

      The follow-up to Calcaterra's bestselling Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island (2013).In her second book, the author teams up with her youngest sister, Maloney, to tell the story of their alcoholic and psychologically damaged mother, Cookie. Their two older sisters managed to leave the family through marriage or moving in with friends; Calcaterra sought legal emancipation at age 14. However, because Maloney and her brother, Norm, were still young children, they were forced to stay with Cookie, who "only wanted [them] for the welfare checks." When she was "too busy" drinking and carousing to look after Maloney and her brother, the pair went into a foster care home, where they were abused. Cookie eventually kidnapped her children and took them to live with an assortment of men she picked up in bars or on the street. To escape legal problems and being "put in the slammer," Cookie and her children left for Idaho. There they stayed with friends until Cookie was caught stealing from her hosts. Life only began to stabilize for Maloney and Norm after Cookie finally settled down with Clyde, the Mormon husband of another woman. As Maloney entered adolescence, she endured unwanted sexual advances from Clyde, more beatings from her mother, and virtual enslavement as a worker on the farm where they lived. School and the hope of reunion with her sisters, who did whatever they could to help, saved Maloney from a temporary slide into alcohol and drugs and occasional thoughts of suicide. In the end, she not only broke free of Cookie, but also found the happiness that had eluded her throughout her youth. As engrossing as Etched in Sand, this book is a testament to Maloney's remarkable resilience and a moving tribute to the unbreakable bond of love she shared with her siblings. Courageous and emotionally intense. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Kirkus

      August 15, 2016
      The follow-up to Calcaterras bestselling Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island (2013).In her second book, the author teams up with her youngest sister, Maloney, to tell the story of their alcoholic and psychologically damaged mother, Cookie. Their two older sisters managed to leave the family through marriage or moving in with friends; Calcaterra sought legal emancipation at age 14. However, because Maloney and her brother, Norm, were still young children, they were forced to stay with Cookie, who only wanted [them] for the welfare checks. When she was too busy drinking and carousing to look after Maloney and her brother, the pair went into a foster care home, where they were abused. Cookie eventually kidnapped her children and took them to live with an assortment of men she picked up in bars or on the street. To escape legal problems and being put in the slammer, Cookie and her children left for Idaho. There they stayed with friends until Cookie was caught stealing from her hosts. Life only began to stabilize for Maloney and Norm after Cookie finally settled down with Clyde, the Mormon husband of another woman. As Maloney entered adolescence, she endured unwanted sexual advances from Clyde, more beatings from her mother, and virtual enslavement as a worker on the farm where they lived. School and the hope of reunion with her sisters, who did whatever they could to help, saved Maloney from a temporary slide into alcohol and drugs and occasional thoughts of suicide. In the end, she not only broke free of Cookie, but also found the happiness that had eluded her throughout her youth. As engrossing as Etched in Sand, this book is a testament to Maloneys remarkable resilience and a moving tribute to the unbreakable bond of love she shared with her siblings. Courageous and emotionally intense.

      COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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