Can an absent mother’s love save her child? Sadie rummages her memory for every proverb her mother uttered; they become her mantras. Her ‘before-drugs’ mother always tried to see goodness everywhere and Sadie tries to emulate her, soaking up any glints of kindness to insulate her in hard times. Can poetry substitute for tears? Sadie expresses her emotions in poems, which she hides away in her suitcase, and if found will cost her a beating. Can simple objects like a red plastic glass minister to an abused child? Yes, if you are Sadie; the glass is her talisman. This is not just a story of just hardship. It’s about coming through hardship with your soul intact, about fi nally triumphing and thriving. At its core it’s about fi nding, although not understanding, forgiveness.