Gal: A True Life - Softcover

Bolton, Ruthie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 014024820X ISBN 13: 9780140248203

Publisher: Penguin, 1995

Synopsis

This is the true story of Ruthie Bolton (a psuedonym) and her survival in the face of a terrifying and violent childhood. Gal is born in 1961 in Charleston, South Carolina, to a 13-year-old mother, who is later murdered. She is raised by her grandmother and violent grandfather.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Ruthie Bolton was born January 6, 1961, in the Hungry Neck section of Charleston, South Carolina. At the time her mother was thirteen; she has never known who her father was. Her mother was the wandering kind, so Ruthie - nicknamed "Gal" by her step-grandfather - was raised in her grandparents' home. One day Grandmama died as a result of a severe beating by her husband - it occurred to no one to call this to the attention of the authorities - and Gal was left in the brutal hands of her granddaddy, who also beat her unmercifully. Ruthie began to steal things in school and developed a stutter; she drank and smoked dope. But she resolutely stuck with her education and graduated from high school, which was likely her salvation, for today Ruthie is happily married, with children and a fine job. At last, she is at peace - with herself, and even with the memory of her grandfather. It is nigh impossible to convey the astonishingly eloquent simplicity of Ruthie's witnessing to her time. Here is an absolutely remarkable document, as touching as it is painful, as ageless as it is timely.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 014024820X
• ISBN 13: 9780140248203
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288