My mother was raped as a teenager in the 1930's and got pregnant with my brother. When grandpa found out that Mama was pregnant, he beat her and threw her down the stairs. Mama had brought shame to the family and would spend the rest of her life feeling dirty.

Even before his birth, my brother was made to feel that there was something dirty and shameful about his very existence. My brother became a pedophile.

I grew up in the 1950's and '60s. I was the little girl who walked funny, talked funny, acted funny, dressed funny, smelled funny. I was the one they laughed at and whispered about.

"dirty little stories" is a child's-eye-view of growing up weird.

Perhaps the worst part of my childhood was when teachers kind of smirked when I walked by ... as if I was as much of a joke to them as I was to my classmates. My hope is that my book might help teachers, caretakers, and anyone who works with children, to recognize signs of poverty, neglect, and abuse.

There are countless kids out there who might be going through what I went through back then. The years of my childhood were the longest years of my life. When you're going through it, it feels like it will never end ... that things will never change.

But it DOES change. Life goes on, we have experiences, and we learn and grow. And we can even get to a point where we can laugh about it! I'm hoping that anyone who can relate to my book will find some consolation in knowing that.