LEARN MORE ABOUT DIANE

Diane: True Survivor tells the powerful story of a woman who overcomes a lifetime of hardship and abuse. The details read like fiction, but they're all very real. Through a series of compelling conversations, she shares intimate memories filled with faith and resilience.
 

Diane is born in 1960 to a prostitute in London. When she's an infant, her mother tries to kill both Diane and herself in a failed suicide attempt. Diane's mother is committed to a mental asylum, and Diane is sent to a British orphanage.
 

When Diane is nine years old, her mother unexpectedly regains custody of her. Her mother is now living in the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City. Diane experiences major culture shock when her mother forces her to move from a small English village to an American ghetto. She soon faces even more challenges as she endures physical and emotional abuse from her mother and sexual abuse from her stepfather. When she’s 14, Diane gets pregnant and runs away from home. Along the way, she encounters a series of "angels" who help her survive on the streets. They include a love-struck, teenage paraplegic and a half-bald lesbian poet.
 

Despite a series of abusive romantic relationships, Diane manages to create a new life for herself. She raises eight children (three biological and five adopted), and she finally finds happiness when she reunites with the father of her first child. He has kicked his long-time heroin addiction, but they soon learn that he is HIV-positive. They move to Charleston, South Carolina and have 10 happy years together before he dies. After his death, Diane discovers a new sense of faith and develops a meaningful spiritual life.
 

The book concludes when Diane's mother suddenly reappears in her life. Despite the years of abuse when she was a child, Diane eventually forgives her mother and invites her into her home. As they make a new life together, Diane's story becomes one of grace and mercy.
 

DIANE: TRUE SURVIVOR ALSO OFFERS AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE ON RACE RELATIONS. DIANE IS WHITE, BUT SHE LIVES ALMOST ALL HER LIFE IN AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND CULTURE.