Book excerpt: A family tragedy left a mother and six small children struggling to get by. With no outside help forthcoming, the family pulled together, with each member playing his or her own role in daily life in an effort to survive. But their hardships in contrast to many of the families around them instilled a desire to succeed. The story is told through a letter written by one of the children to his deceased father in an effort to stop the nightmares that continued to haunt him well into his adult life. Very intense and emotional.