1994 "First Edition" stated on copyright page; Harcourt Brace & Company publishers, New York; hardbound in tan and white boards with metal foil lettering along spine; very good condition with unmarked pages; dust jacket very good.
 
description -
Born in 1961 to a thirteen-year-old mother in South Carolina, Ruthie Bolton endured abandonment, abuse, and loss-and grew into a hardened, troubled young woman. Then she met a man who offered her something she'd never known, something she thought was a dirty word: love. The only challenge left was to accept it. 

"A gift to readers...The storyteller's memory, eye for detail, and ear for dialogue are so compelling that in private conversation one would be leaning toward her so as to catch every word." (Washington Post Book World) 

"Vivid...inspiring...impossible to forget." (Newsweek) 

"It's a book about being human, and as enthralling as any ever written." (Boston Sunday Globe) 

"Her language is unadulterated and eloquently simple." (Christian Science Monitor)