From the Story

“I woke to a sense that something was near me, the tone in my head gaining volume. A light tailwind ever so gently had blown the hairs on my arms and the hairs on my neck as if someone or something had just moved past my body. I liked sleeping on hard surfaces in the house because it somehow comforted…

“One at a time, the others began to notice, their faces changing from laughter to horror as Jenny began to oddly arch her spine backward more and more, finally falling off the cement barrier onto her back. Her right arm and pointing index finger stiffly extended upward toward the sky.”

“When the massacre finally ended five domestics were dead, three leopards were terribly wounded, and Mitch had lost a full-grown goat. For me the aftermath of the dog massacre was far worse than the massacre itself. That was the night I would start seeing the very dark side of Mitch Teel.”

“I watched her every day as she would roll her wheelchair over to the bed, her frail bony hands grasping the handrails of the wheelchair, her nearly translucent skin stretched over her knuckles and tendons exposing thick purple veins, struggling to lift herself up onto the bed. With pillows behind her back, she settled herself just so and began her…

“As I struggled to regain my composure, I began to realize this wasn’t a preemptive warning that usually accompanied the tones. No, this was a dizzying sense of release! It was massive emotional purge as if I’d just been dumped off roaring bullet train chaotically barreling down the tracks out of control….”

“We frantically shoveled dirt into the grave covering Chulita’s body with each toss. Shovel-load after shovel-load the grave finally began to fill to the rim. After a few more tosses of dirt, it quickly became obvious the grave was far too shallow. Chulita’s left rear leg, stiff as a board, was sticking up well above the ground just below the…

“The house was watching as a horrible nightmare infected my mind, seeping in cell by cell, like touching the corner of a thin tissue to a drop of blood. The leopards … they were in the house! They were sniffing about, growling, gnashing their teeth at each other anticipating a fight for food, saliva dripping from their mouths. They anxiously…

“Back in the old house, things were deteriorating fast. The time between the Braydon event and the beginning of my senior year was the start of the end of my desire to care. It was the end of my desire to try.”

“Nothing about Jenny Grey was fake. This morning she was wearing old, faded, button fly jeans, red tennis shoes, and a peach-colored sweater, the sleeves of which she had just stretched down over her hands while clenching up her shoulders in a brief self-conscious moment she wasn’t even aware of.”

“While the feel of Corpus Christi was always like an ocean-front vacation, Pleasanton was a hot, dreary, dusty, rugged place. There were no tourists, no coastlines, and no water. I had to look hard to find anyone not wearing cowboy hats, rough faded jeans, and weathered ranch boots. Guns, high school football, livestock, hunting, the summer heat, getting rain, and…

“Immediately I sensed something was near me. I couldn’t see anything, but I felt it ever so subtly. As I stepped past the door threshold and into the master bedroom, I became aware that the air had become very thick, colder now, and much heavier. Something about that room sent the hair on the back of my neck standing up,…

From the Readers

“Having known Ronnie in his middle school years, I never knew what hell he was living through. It’s remarkable that he was able to survive and overcome…. His story opened my eyes to the fact that we never know what someone else is going through, so we need to do our best to be kind at all times.” –P.M.Y.

“I was taught long ago that ‘hard writing makes for easy reading’. This book has some seriously hard writing. The incidents and circumstances are brutal and the story is full of incredibly courageous honesty.” –RJ

“What can I say but WOW! Powerful and amazingly written… Could not put it down. A page turner for sure! You actually feel like your in the story with Ron and you feel the raw emotion he felt. I have recommended this book to everyone I know.” –TT

“…a great song should evoke emotion. Well this book evokes emotion! It is captivating, gut-wrenching, joyous, thought-provoking, uplifting, inspirational, eye-opening … it’s an amazing piece of art.” –J.W.

“A remarkable autobiographical masterpiece that penetrates every facet of the human psyche. This truly exceptional work of art skillfully encapsulates the intricate tapestry of human experiences, possessing the ability to deeply resonate with readers by eliciting their emotions, stimulating their intellect, and instilling a profound sense of inspiration.” –Donna R.

“This true story depicts what the human spirit can overcome against the worst of circumstances. A reminder that there are people we come across in our lives who have an indelible impact without ever knowing it. Those people become our saviors.” –Jenny Grey

“… a tale so riddled with bizarre, shocking, and unbelievable episodes the story screams out to be told on a movie screen.”

“… a profound and shocking tale of survival, this story recounts years of unspeakable horror and pain Ronnie suffered as a young boy. The scene descriptions are so riveting the story will leave you on the verge of disgust one minute, and the next you’ll be on your feet cheering as Ronnie fights for a normal life.”

“…a disturbing story that will linger in your mind long after the last page, Ronnie’s memoir will stick the ugliest clips of humanity right in your face and make you want to turn away, your shock and disgust quelled only by the intervention of a few beautiful saviors, serendipitous inspiration, and hope in the dark chasms of hopelessness.”

“…a painfully honest story of a child overcoming all odds to become the person he was meant to be. A gripping and sometimes horrifying read.”