To Dance with Ugly People by Lorene Stunson Hill

To Whom it May Concern:
This is a story told in a series of letters written by Dani, beginning in the year 1955 when she was just a small child of only 4 years old, and continues on through until the fall of 1983. Dani's story is raw and emotional in it's honesty and truth. Dani is forced to grow up early, with a mother who left her in charge, basically abandoning her to raise her siblings and care for the household as a parent should. Dani suffers from abuse and neglect, not only as a child, but throughout this entire tale. I felt for this girl, I kept hoping that things would take a turn for her, kept looking for her silver lining. Dani eventually grows up to be a strong woman, with the courage to keep going, to keep striving, and believing that her true "someone" was out there, waiting to appreciate all that she has been through, and the person that she has become. It is hard to read through Dani's trials and tribulations, hard to look into the face of the hand that this poor girl was dealt. This author did an excellent job in crafting Dani and her story, and all of the characters that come in and out of her life and affect it. She makes you understand the pain and suffering that Dani goes through, and helps the reader to see how she comes to the point that she finally is at.