A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island

Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra
Published: August 6, 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks
It's not often you read a true life fairy tale, except here, in Regina Calcaterra's memoir, we experience a true rag to riches story. Instead though, of being rescued by a handsome prince, Regina rescues herself with a lot of time, hard work, the help of her siblings, and luckily a few positive role models.

Regina is the middle child of 5 siblings, and throughout her childhood they're shuffled from foster home to foster home, or living with their mother in a car, or with all of them in a house abandoned by their mother taking care of themselves. They're abused physically, verbally, and sexually by their mother and even at times their foster families. So much of this book is disheartening especially when you see time and again how the system fails these children and they fall through the cracks. While parts were hard to read, Regina still knows when to pull back, and avoid some of the more graphic details. Yet despite her upbringing, Regina made something of herself and currently serves the governor of New York and is a political consultant on television.

What's surprising about this, is that even though it is a memoir, it doesn't quite read like one. Instead it reads a bit like a work of fiction, with a bit of a mystery. It's filled with almost cliffhangers at the end of chapters, which makes it the type of book you can't put down. There's even a bit of legal drama in this book, and while it's not quite to Jodi Picoult level, it does bring an interesting perspective.

If there's a message that comes across in this book it's that education can save you. Life can give you some of the hardest circumstances, but as long as you're willing to work hard and continuously strive to learn all you can, you have the tools to help yourself climb to any height.

5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.