Mothering to Mother Ink

ABUSE IS WHAT SHE WAS ADOPTED INTO. LOVE IS THE MEASSAGE SHE SHARES. At only six months old, Della Steinke was adopted by a father who desperately wanted her and a mother who adamantly rejected her. Childhood is meant to be a carefree time of life, but Della spent hers desperate to escape her mother's physical blows and hateful words, abuse her adopted brother never had to face. Even Child and Family Services failed to protect her. By the age of sixteen, Della's only focus was escaping her family, even if it meant living out of her car for almost a year. But freedom didn't solve her problems. Especially as a pregnant teenager. In this stirring and honest memoir, Della shares the hard truths of trying to grow and thrive with a background of neglect, cruelty, and sexual abuse. From her first unplanned pregnancy to rehabilitating her seventeen-year-old after a devastating car accident; from worsening alcoholism to cold-turkey sobriety; and from a desperate drug run to helping ex-gang members leave their dangerous and traumatic pasts behind, Mothering to Mother Ink is Della's inspiring true story of hope, second chances, and ultimate redemption.