Covering roughly the first two decades of the author's life, 'Places' is a real life story of lovelessness, depression, desperation and abuse, both physical and psychological. It shows - at times with stark vividness - how insecurity, envy, distrust and lack of self-esteem can seep into the psyche of an entire family, engendering mental instability over successive generations. And it also shows how a person brought up in such a hostile and toxic environment can be hugely vulnerable when they try to make their own way in the outside world.

Searingly honest, and without affectation or pretension, 'Places' is a tough story, often harrowing and at times confronting, but it is also a story of hope and the will to survive. Despite the appalling things done to her, the young Debbie - the first-person narrator of 'Places' - never gives up hope, and seldom wavers in her belief that the possibility of a better life might be just around the next corner. That was my quest in life. I felt it was possible, even though most people said life was hell on earth. I hated their negative words; and just kept hoping and dreaming for a better future.

Debbie never gave up, and she found the hope she was looking for, in the man who walked into a hospital room, as she lay in a pool of blood. Debbie also has a public speaking ministry called 'No Offense'.