When I Was Her Daughter

Product Description

“This brilliant memoir, a debut no less, has the insights, the epiphanies, and the ability to let the reader really live the life being documented. Not only is this an extraordinary narrative about a family challenged by mental illness and foster care, it gives voice to a greater sense of displacement and alienation. It also offers hope, love, and forgiveness. It is a book for our time—for all time—in that it’s heartbreakingly beautiful and genuinely unforgettable. This memoir is absolutely not to be missed. There are not enough thumbs-up to give it. Read it! Now!”
—Sue William Silverman, award-winning author of
How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences

“When I Was Her Daughter
is a gripping, visceral, page-turning memoir. With humor and heart, Ferguson tells the story of growing up with a seriously dangerous mentally ill mother, navigating the sometimes-terrifying-often-lonely foster care system, and ultimately finding a home. Unflinching, powerful, lyrical, and raw, this memoir is both heartbreaking and triumphant.”
—Marni Freedman, co-founder of The San Diego Writers Festival

“When I Was Her Daughter is a powerful and compelling memoir. Ferguson’s gifted storytelling transports the reader to her childhood, a time filled with confusion, imagination, grief, and hope. This is a story that will break your heart and put it back together again.”
—Holly Kammier, best-selling author of
Lost Girl

“
In this haunting and heroic memoir, Ferguson captures the reader with her intense storytelling skills and invites us to cheer her on every step of the way. The book leaves inspiring moments of strength and resilience throughout to be captured and called on for our own forever. Brilliant breakout book!”
—

Sunny Rey, owner and creator of Poets Underground and Poets Underground Press

Seven-year-old Leslie has a serious problem. Someone is trying to kill her.

Leslie and her little brother must confront the stark reality of living with their mother’s raging psychosis. When her mother demands the impossible, Leslie attempts to control the chaos. Her obedience results in terrifying consequences, and her rebellion angers her mother, who writes rambling manifestos and forces her children to live on the run to evade the Russian spies she believes are after them. Her mother’s ultimate goal is to protect her children from capture even if it means she must kill them herself.

Eventually, the police remove Leslie and her brother from their mother’s custody. Freedom from violence and neglect offers the young girl a glimmer of hope, but alienating, oppressive foster homes cause her to plummet into despair. All seems lost . . . until a teacher intervenes and risks everything to bring Leslie to safety and show her the redemptive power of trust and patience, proving unconditional love is possible even without the bond of blood.

When I Was Her Daughter is a raw, honest account of one girl’s journey through madness, loss, and a broken child welfare system, where only the lucky and most resilient survive.

Review

“This brilliant memoir, a debut no less, has the insights, the epiphanies, and the ability to let the reader really live the life being documented. Not only is this an extraordinary narrative about a family challenged by mental illness and foster care, it gives voice to a greater sense of displacement and alienation. It also offers hope, love, and forgiveness. It is a book for our time-for all time-in that it’s heartbreakingly beautiful and genuinely unforgettable. This memoir is absolutely not to be missed. There are not enough thumbs-up to give it. Read it! Now!”
-Sue William Silverman, award-winning author of How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences

“When I Was Her Daughter is a gripping, visceral, page-turning memoir. With humor and heart, Ferguson tells the story of growing up with a seriously dangerous mentally ill mother, navigating the sometimes-terrifying-often-lonely foster care system, and u