In their own words, this is the story of the Welsh sisters, and their lives with Jack, their mean and abusive stepfather.

Every Sunday, the whole family attended church, like the typical happy family. The rest of the week, there were beatings (with a leather belt) and molestation, for little or no reason. The family wore hand-me-down clothes. The justice system was no help. One by one, the girls run away from home, and attempt to find their own identities, while holding on to each other.

One sister dies, but there is no sense of closure for the girls, because they are not allowed to attend the funeral. Another sister waitresses at an all-night truck stop, expecting the "missing" sister to come in at any time. While living on the streets, a third sister encounters a number of people who expect you-know-what in exchange for assistance.

In later years, Samantha, another sister, lives on her own, but with an extreme fear of leaving her house, practically agoraphobia. Ashlee, who goes through men the way most people go through tissues, temporarily gives up custody of Nicole, her daughter, to Amber, because Ashlee feels that she is an unfit mother. She is also convinced that she is being stalked by a man named Bruce, even though she has never actually seen him. With a policeman husband, it is felt that Amber can transfer some stability to Nicole. Later, that stability is shattered when Shane, Amber’s husband, is killed by a stray bullet on the pistol range. Amber marries two other men, who both die in freak accidents.

Mother gets in her side of the story. She married young, and went through three unhappy marriages before she married Jack. The biggest thing going for him is that he promised to stay around, and he did. He didn’t leave her, or suddenly declare that he was gay, like her previous husbands. She feels that Jack is a sweet man, who is simply under a lot of pressure; she can’t understand why her girls never visit anymore, or even call her. At the end, the sisters have their catharsis, their moment of getting "over" Jack, once and for all, with help from a tornado.

According to the Introduction, there is a substantial amount of non-fiction in this book, even though it is marketed as fiction. Either way, it is a gem of a story. In a way, this is pretty unpleasant reading, but it is very good and emotional reading. It is very much recommended. ( )