The book tells the story of Mary, the only daughter to a mother who had mental health issues. It tells of the experience through the eyes of the child and the emotional impact of living with psychological and physical abuse throughout her childhood. Mary was inherently a loving, caring fun loving child but it seemed her inner joy and light shone too bright for those around within her family. It shows how Mary learned to adopt to the most difficult of circumstances. She adjusted psychologically in order to protect herself. It shows the courage and strength she had to survive in the most adverse circumstances, portraying a great example to us all in survival. It is an inspirational story of hope, strength and triumph. It is a true depiction of events told from the authors recall of her childhood experience. There is no blame intended as Mary knows that her mother did her best with the knowledge and tools she possessed. Names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.