It’s easy to stay angry after an experience like this. R. Leone, on the contrary, handles her past very beautifully with great maturity and composure. She reveals the true picture of survival – no embellishment, but simply hard labor, faith, and an absolute unwavering commitment to her kiddos, Benji and Sofia.

The chapters detailing the betrayal—especially the phone call on the island where she discovers an eight-year secret life and two other children—felt like a complete punch to the gut. You can feel the sheer shock and anger through the page. But what actually made this book stick with me wasn’t the drama of the split; it was the grit that came after.

The part where she relocated to Florida, worked in labor and service jobs, taking up sewing work, and standing firm in her decision not to allow him to emotionally manipulate their way back into her life represent the strong areas of the book. If you admire memoirs in which a person truly lifts up their life out of nothing mainly because of the kids, you should definitely take a chance on it.