This is a story of neglect, abuse, loneliness, and ultimately redemption. It documents the life of Prudy Hopkins from her infancy, childhood, and teenage years in an orphanage where all her energy goes into merely surviving the best way that she can. There is no coddling or snuggling, just a handful of women taking care of her basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing. Due to a cleft palate and lip, Prudy is singled out and becomes the subject of sympathy from adults, curiosity and alienation from her peers, and abuse from misfit children who torture her because it makes them feel better about themselves. As a result, Prudy isolates herself from everyone and refuses to let anybody get close to her. After having been the subject of unspeakable violence as a teenager, she is forced to evaluate her life. Through the help of her high school English teacher and an incredible therapist, she finally learns to trust and let people penetrate the walls she has put up around herself. But after a heartbreaking, sudden, and shocking loss, she puts the fortifications back up and entrenches herself inside them. It isn't until she meets Tom, who refuses to be daunted by her defensiveness toward him, that she is finally able to let someone in again. The rest of the story is about her life as an adult—the trials and triumphs that are unique to her. It is a beautiful and tender account of one woman's journey through self-discovery, continued reevaluation, and the reinvention of herself.