Book excerpt: Born in a drafty house, Jessie, the firstborn of Mary and her abusive husband, Bill, was born for better things. Throughout her childhood, she tells stories that enable her to escape into her own made-up world. She cares for her siblings and manages to establish lifelong friendships. As a teenager, her parents divorce, and Jessie begins to experience days without the need to weigh every action or word. She no longer fears the night or the soft footsteps that once came to her bedside. Because of her capacity for forgiveness and compassion, Jessie refuses to be a victim. Later, she is reunited with a high school friend who becomes the man who makes her frightening memories dissolve into distant shadows that hover at the outer fringes of her mind but are rarely allowed in. As a wife and mother, Jessie again turns to storytelling not as a way to escape her fathers cruelty but to entertain and teach her children. She introduces them to characters that leave them wanting more but appreciating what they have. Jessie weaves make-believe with reality to create a tapestry of lasting memories that make bedtime a time to be savored.