How I Grew Up is Book One in "The Carousel Trilogy," stories of three friends whose lives were changed by one event when they were high school students. "You'll Never Walk Alone." The words from that song in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel held an especially poignant meaning for Melanie Stewart, who went on stage in the leading role of Julie Jordan mere weeks after her parents were victims of a senseless murder, perpetrated by her own sister's troubled husband. She was just eighteen, a high school senior who dreamed of Hollywood stardom and her first real kiss. With the support of her two older sisters, who had problems of their own to deal with in the lingering aftermath of the horror, and her good friends, Mel auditioned for her high school's spring musical the week after her parent's funeral. Rehearsals for the production began almost immediately. In the weeks leading up to the performance, Melanie learning she was stronger than she knew and being involved in the show helped her begin to heal. The story takes place in small-town America in the nineteen fifties.