Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra

Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island, Regina Calcaterra. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013. ebook, 240 pps.

     Regina was one of five siblings who grew up in (most of the time) poverty and (pretty near all of the time) extreme abuse imposed by her mother and the foster care system. Her mother was indiscriminately abusive towards all of her children and some of her male lovers as well. Eventually, Regina and three of her sisters got out. One sister wasn't able to get out until legal age due to total and abject system failure. A brother-- the apparent favored child-- may not have wanted to get out.

sapphoq reviews says: Regina Calcaterra recounts an appalling and heart-wrenching story of what happened to her and her siblings at the hands of adults who were supposed to protect them. I thought that this book was genuine and brutally honest and ought to be required reading by all people who work in the foster care system and maybe some parents as well. Highly recommended.