Wrought by a childhood replete with trying circumstances and telling experiences (conveyed in Frances Smith's earlier book), and in tandem with resultant beliefs and attitudes she held toward herself and the world she was about to enter, the commencement of legal adulthood also removed any buttressing protection minority provided. Too many confused and self-critical assessments would ill-serve this demoiselle. In time, those same assessments would transform into extremely harmful and life-threatening situations. Surviving would become a lifestyle for the author, which would shape not only her world but that of those whom she held most dear.

Ms. Smith's adulthood was remarkable because of the duality consistently displayed between her professional abilities and achievements and her personal descent into depreciation and decline. This descent was birthed by a mentally imprinted sense of desperation inseminated by prevailing dogma, the flawed conclusions of youthful minds, and unattended hurts and breaches.

This tale is a cautionary account. Similar to the brutality of a gauntlet one is forced to run, a few key choices in the life of this young woman vaulted her into a sort of awful test. Not failing would require overcoming deeply rooted beliefs and fears that sucked her backward in a downward spiral. Failing the test would mean no escape from an existence that was the antithesis of living.

Scores of challenges the author faced in her adult life were nearly fantastical, so grueling and perverse were they. If any hope of victory existed, this woman's constitution must contain an extraordinary will to persevere and survive. Would the author discover that quality within herself, or would defeat ultimately claim her?