Shelly Meyer was born in the small town of Beaver Dam Wisconsin in 1956 to an abusive mother and a violent, alcoholic father. The many stories told by her in this memoir paint a vivid picture of the effects of substance abuse and the consequences of the insanity it creates, including the years that led to the murder that blew up her family in 1970. Coming from a small town meant that everyone knew Shelly's parents, Russell and Ruth Meyer, as drunks and undesirable. The shame of coming from poverty, violence, and alcoholism would take years to overcome.
It follows her into adulthood and the disease of alcoholism that overtook her and her oldest boy. It looks at the lives of her siblings who struggled with their own drug and alcohol abuse, and the inevitable light at the end of the tunnel. It gives hope to anyone who has suffered from child abuse, poverty, substance abuse or has a loved one going through similar addiction.
Not all is doom and gloom. This book includes the love of a father, the absolute joy of having a sober life and loving family, and some hilariously funny stories of growing up in a small town in America. Sharing the stories of a dad that had an unusual obsession with animals, including briefly owning a spider monkey, humor is a reoccurring theme throughout the book. Life is a series of complicated chapters, some extremely sad, others absurdly funny, but all entertaining.