The Girl with the Black and Blue Doll is a survival memoir that introduces us to three-year-old Linda as she flees her mother's anger by sliding into the far reaches of her bunk bed underworld with her battered Betsy Wetsy doll. The setting is a three-generation family farm in 1950s/60s New England. The memoir depicts a feral child who is parentified early, taking on heavy responsibilities and experiencing neglect, which leads to Linda's childhood shyness and depression. As soon as she enters the wonderland of Kindergarten, Linda dreams of possibilities beyond the borders of the farm. Mummy says she's too big for her britches, and before long, Daddy will say she is not college material. He wants Linda to work in a factory! Her childhood is one disaster after another, from gunshots at the school bus stop to a disastrous one-and-only birthday party and a shocking Christmas morning. While her successes are not celebrated at home, Linda continues to excel academically in high school, but socially, she feels lost. The turning point comes when Linda arrives at college, where, against all odds, she meets kindred spirits. Here, readers will cheer as Linda transforms into an independent young woman amid the backdrop of the Hippie Movement and the Vietnam War. If you enjoy a fast-paced story with twists and turns, you'll like The Girl with the Black and Blue Doll. Today, we would see her family as dysfunctional, and her depression as undiagnosed Body Dysmorphic Disorder.