I grew up in California’s foster care system, which I entered as an infant. I suffered many horrors at the hands of the system and of others in it.
At age 3, my birth mother was murdered. From ages 3 to 5, I was subjected to repeated sexual abuse by a 13-year-old who also was in the system. The family that adopted me a year later only saw a pretty little girl. They didn’t see the baggage I carried or anticipate the behavioral issues that resulted from my traumatic start in life.