Description
Book SynopsisIt’s 1953 in Southern California, Patty is five years old, and her mother hasn’t been home in two days. A police officer eventually arrives and takes Patty and her brothers to juvenile hall—their mother has been drinking again.
Twenty-eight years later, Patty herself is an alcoholic mother to three children. Divorced and homeless, she soon realizes that she can’t support her children with her job cleaning houses, so she accepts the offer of a man who works at the gas station: she’ll have sex with him for money.
For the next seventeen years, Patty lives a double life as a sex worker. Though she supports her family with the money she makes, she struggles to be the parent she wants to be, until she realizes she has become just like her own mother: an alcoholic who doesn’t give her children what they need.
When Patty gets sober, her life begins to change. She finds healing through therapy, spirituality, community, and, most importantly, speaking the truth to her children. Powerful and insightful, Patty’s story is proof that we all are capable of healing ourselves—and that forgiveness can transform our lives completely.
Trade Review“Patty Tierney has a gift for sharing her life and the lessons she has learned as a woman, mother, and daughter. For those seeking to practice compassion, forgiveness, and healing of old childhood traumas, Patty shares her very personal journey that takes you to the darkest places, and then returns you to the light. Patty is an inspiration to any parent who wasn’t always good enough and is still striving to be better. She is a testament to the idea that the truth will set you free.”
—Jamye Waxman, LMFT, MEd, marriage and family therapist, sex educator, and author
