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    Girl Unbroken: A Sister's Harrowing Story of Survival from The Streets of Long Island to the Farms of Idaho
    Girl Unbroken: A Sister's Harrowing Story of Survival from The Streets of Long Island to the Farms of Idaho
    Girl Unbroken: A Sister's Harrowing Story of Survival from The Streets of Long Island to the Farms of Idaho
    Audiobook11 hours

    Girl Unbroken: A Sister's Harrowing Story of Survival from The Streets of Long Island to the Farms of Idaho

    Written by Regina Calcaterra and Rosie Maloney

    Narrated by Regina Calcaterra and Rosie Maloney

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    About this audiobook

    In the highly anticipated sequel to her New York Times bestseller Etched in Sand, Regina Calcaterra pairs with her youngest sister Rosie to tell Rosie’s harrowing, yet ultimately triumphant, story of childhood abuse and survival.

    They were five kids with five different fathers and an alcoholic mother who left them to fend for themselves for weeks at a time. Yet through it all they had each other. Rosie, the youngest, is fawned over and shielded by her older sister, Regina. Their mother, Cookie, blows in and out of their lives “like a hurricane, blind and uncaring to everything in her path.”

    But when Regina emancipates herself as a minor and escapes, her siblings are separated. And as Rosie discovers after Cookie kidnaps her from foster care, the one thing worse than being abandoned by her mother is living in Cookie’s presence. Beaten physically, abused emotionally, and forced to labor at the farm where Cookie settles in Idaho, Rosie refuses to give in. Like her sister Regina, Rosie has an unfathomable strength in the face of unimaginable hardship—enough to propel her out of Idaho and out of a nightmare.

    Filled with maturity and grace, Rosie’s memoir continues the compelling story begun in Etched in Sand—a shocking yet profoundly moving testament to sisterhood and indomitable courage.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateOct 18, 2016
    ISBN9780062564795
    Author

    Regina Calcaterra

    Regina Calcaterra, Esq. is the bestselling author of Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island, which has been integrated into academic curriculums nationwide. She is a partner at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz and is a passionate advocate for children in foster care.

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    Reviews for Girl Unbroken

    5/5

    139 ratings17 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book is heart- rending. It makes me so sad to think of all the suffering innocent. An amazing account.
    • 5/5
      I highly recommend reading this book. I am truly amazed with how strong she was along with her siblings. Reading this was like reading a combat story, but much closer than far away in another country. I am touched!
    • 5/5
      Following on from her sisters story about their horrid childhood, this was a gripping read. Incredibly sad story, but so inspiring.
    • 5/5
      This one made me stare at the walls. This woman should be exhumed and sentenced. I am not going to spoil it for anyone but I recommend you listen to "Etched in Sand" before starting this. "Etched in Sand" is the same story but from the older sister's (Regina Calcaterra) perspective.
    • 5/5
      What a great story well done Rosanne your courage and determination shone through. Xx
    • 1/5
      I do not care for the”reader” at all! The story itself was sad.
    • 5/5
      A different style of story telling, but also a different perspective, to the sister biography of Regina Calcaterra. The author narrates this novel and it is poignant to hear the emotion catching in her voice in key moments, reminding you this narrative is not fiction but the lived experience of five young adolescents in deep neglect.
    • 4/5
      The first book was better. But it was good. ….
    • 5/5
      An honest and brutal look at abuse, neglect, and the frailty, sturdiness and resiliency of the human soul. It being a true story makes it strike the heart like a dagger. (I received a review copy from LibraryThing.)
    • 3/5
      I found this book somewhat slow moving and lost interest in it at first. Had to wait awhile and go back to it to finish. Storyline didn't keep my intrigue. I would probably recommend this book to someone else.Overall, the writing was good.
    • 5/5
      Llong book but a great read. Many hardships in this book.
    • 5/5
      Girl Unbroken is a sequel of sorts to Etched in Sand, co written by Regina Calcaterra, who wrote the first book, and her sister Rosie Maloney. It is a true and harrowing story of Rosie's life after she is separated from her three sisters, as she and her next oldest brother Norm go into foster care, but soon thereafter are kidnapped by their mother, Cookie and taken to Idaho. Cookie is a serious alcoholic and abuses Rosie physically and emotionally and eventually lives with a man who abuses Rosie sexually. Rosie and Norm are forced to perform extreme labor on the farm and live in a house which is filthy and disgusting. Somehow Norm does seem to avoid the brunt of the abuse, while Rosie is the scapegoat for almost all of it. Although hard to read from the perspective of all the abuse, the story is riveting and compelling. Somehow with a few good folks in Rosie's life, she survives and eventually thrives. The family circumstances didn't surprise me, but what did is the failure of so many people and agencies that did not help Rosie. The foster home was extremely abusive, but somehow was licensed and allowed to operate. Having worked in child welfare for over 35 years, I found this appalling. Then once Rosie and her brother were in Cookie's care, not school personnel, not medical personnel, not friends, not neighbors, not even the sheriff to whom abuse was reported, came to the children's aid or assistance. These children were failed again and again, over a period of about eight years. Very hard to believe.
    • 5/5
      Girl Unbroken by Regina Calcaterra and Rosie Maloney is a true story written about what it is like to grow up being abused physically and sexually. Parent Advisory highly needed as the author uses explicit language throughout the entire book. It also involves living with a mother addicted to drugs, alcohol, and sex. This book states that it is a story about survival on the streets to the farms. In my opinion, these sisters accomplished what they set out to tell. These sisters are bringing awareness to the physical and sexual abuse that is going on today. The starvation that comes with alcohol and substance abuse. They are bringing to life the view point of the victim and the mental and physiological abuse that comes with the physical abuse. These authors are qualified to write on this topic, because they were the victims themselves. They are not trying to tell you what they think would happen, they are telling you exactly what happened during these times. The story is told in first person point of view, so you know exactly how the victim is feeling. There were a few spots that you wanted the author to go into more detail and then there a few spots that you wanted the author to move on. Overall I feel the story was compelling and I had a hard time putting it down.
    • 5/5
      Girl Unbroken, by Regina Calcaterra and Rosie Maloney, is the sequel to Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra which tells the story of five siblings who had endured horrific childhoods. Rosie is the youngest of the children and Girl Unbroken is her story. Clearly and candidly, she details the unspeakable abuses she suffered and how she was able to survive. I found this to be a compelling memoir.I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
    • 5/5
      An honest and brutal look at abuse, neglect, and the frailty, sturdiness and resiliency of the human soul. It being a true story makes it strike the heart like a dagger. (I received a review copy from LibraryThing.)
    • 5/5
      Girl Unbroken, while sad and disturbing in it's truthfulness, is a book that everyone should read. Rosie's childhood was deplorable and the fact that the foster care system failed her is equally disturbing. Deficiencies in the government agencies that are suppose to help children in need should not be tolerated. My hope is that as more people become aware, more step up and offer help.
    • 5/5
      I received this book in an Early Reviewer giveaway. I am so thankful I was able to read this book! This is the horrible true story a child's abusive childhood. Rosie was verbally and physically abused by her alcoholic mother Cookie her whole childhood. And when she was finally taken away and put into foster care the abuse continued there until Cookie kidnapped her and forced her to move from place to place as her mother went through men. The abuse that Rosie endured was heartbreaking and it was hard to fathom a mother treating her child the way she was treated. Through the love of her sisters and a few others she persevered. This book was an eye opener to the fact that the foster care system and child protective services doesn't always protect the way their supposed to. I couldn't put it down!!