Steel Town Girl

Growing up in a hardscrabble steel town in West Virginia, Robin wants just one thing: to be happy. But that's hard to do when your parents have substance-abuse problems, anger-management issues, and expect you to be the one to raise your baby brother.And when Robin's parents split up? It's no better. Traveling back and forth between the homes of an abusive father and neglectful mother, it's tough to tell which is the frying pan and which is the fire. Always on the move, never staying in one place long enough to grow roots or make lasting friends, Robin learns to navigate her uncertain universe by coming to rely on one amazingly strong and resilient person: herself.Reminiscent of Jeanette Walls' Glass Castle and Augusten Burroughs' Running with Scissors, this brave memoir is a welcome addition to the dysfunctional-literature bookshelf. At once moving and tender, courageous and fierce, with a healing dose of humor tossed in, this against-the-odds story of one steel town girl will win readers' hearts. A triumph.