An entire childhood spent in the depths of abuse is not usually the stuff of bestseller lists - but it should be. Fighting this scourge of modern society should be on every parent, every teacher, and every social workers reading list - for the signs are not always bruises on the outside.
Lydia was a child that never experienced a hug, a mother’s kiss, a welcoming embrace. There was no one to dry her tears, allay her fears, or hold her hand. She was a child who grew up watching other children take for granted the love and care she never had.

Author Lydia Ola Taiwo knows this all too well. In her novel Broken Childhood, she delves into a past that would have consumed most of us. Or, at least it would not have inspired us to do great things.

Horribly abused as a child, Ms. Taiwo uses her past to teach lessons for those who can save children. Her book shows that while you cannot change your past, you can certainly change your future and change of the future of others along the way.

Broken Childhood should be required reading for parents, social workers, medical professionals -- anyone who care gives to children. It is not only an memoir, it is an album of the darkness lurking in humanity, a guide to spotting abuse, and a gift to those who seek to find a better future. ( )