I wore a red satin strapless dress, it was fitted, hugging my curves to the ankles and dropping in the back with a small "tail." I wore the dress as a celebration of survival, marking a passage of time, much like a boy scout would don a new merit badge. I went to the mall for a photograph in a department store studio so as to be able to reflect later how I felt at this time. It was the only time I wore the dress, the significance meant just for me. The dress hung in the closet after the photograph was taken for a period of time until I gave it as a donation, hoping some young woman with little means would claim it for a prom. I tell this story, my story, with the hope that someone else might gain something from my experiences. It is not a complete autobiography but details of the events that were the most significant in shaping who I am today and hopefully giving the reader an idea of what kind of person I became. I understand that I have learned the most from the difficulties that life has given me and that others who shared parts of these experiences might see them differently with their eyes. Everyone has a story and experiences that color the way they respond to any particular event, but I speak from my heart and relate these events the best I am able. I may choose to leave out particular details, not to withhold information but to protect innocent individuals from harm. To get back to the wearing of the red dress, it had been some years that I had struggled to gain a foothold on my emotions and feel like really living life so the wearing of the red dress marked the survival of the most painful experience I will ever have to face.