Martha is now in her thirties. Her daughter has left home and she is lonely and vulnerable. The hard knocks have taken their toll on her health, and as she looks into the years still lying ahead of her, she shakes her head, feeling she hasn't the heart or the strength to go on. As she teeters on the[...]

On hearing that Jackser, her childhood abuser, is seriously ill, Martha is elated, thinking that finally she will be able to watch him suffer. But in the hospital she sees a frightened, lonely old man and realises with a shock that he seems to regret his earlier actions. During her vigil, she is joi[...]

Aged 13, Martha Long is rescued by the courts from the clutches of her evil stepfather and her feckless mother. After numerous arrests for shoplifting, a judge rules that she is to be sent to a convent school. Her initial relief at escaping the abuse and neglect she suffered at home is, however, sho[...]

An instalment of the author's autobiography, in which, her story continues through her teenage years. At 16, she collapses on the streets, suffering from starvation, exposure and absolute exhaustion. She has reached rock bottom and something must give. Otherwise, she may come to an untimely end.[...]