D. Boyd takes an unflinching look back at a 1970s childhood plagued by insecurity, bullying, and family dysfunction. A shy only child, Dawn struggles to fit in. After starting a small town fried chicken franchise her war-vet father becomes even more emotionally inaccessible at home, and nothing Dawn does is ever good enough for her mother. School isn't much better: filled with misinterpretation, false accusations, and constant social challenges. Dawn's a true underdog--and this is the story of how she learns to find the good in the bad, and that fitting in isn't all it's cracked up to be.