Marion Witte was raised in a little house on the prairie, but her childhood wasnothing like the idyllic version of childhood made famous by Laura Ingalls.Witte's story has its roots in immigrant grandparents who struggle to makea living on the harsh Midwestern plains. Unbelievable hardship, alcoholism,abuse and abandonment were the norm during her youth. Witte enduredpunishments that had devastating emotional effects. She was often locked ina dark, dirty cellar with the rats and mice, terrifed and too little to turn onthe light bulb that hung high above her.As Witte retells the circumstances of her youth, it becomes clear that thisbook is much more than a compelling story of childhood mistreatment. Thecrux of her story maintains that once abuse stops, the psychological damagelingers. Even as Witte graduated from college, became a CPA, and had herown family, she knew that there were wounds to be healed. Witte takes thereader on the journey she pursued to heal from the past, and the pitfalls andsuccesses of that process. Her honest and compassionate portrayal draws thereader into an analysis of negative adult behaviors and why we may behavein an emotionally immature manner. This is a book that connects the dotsbetween our childhood experiences, our current adult behavior and the waywe parent.