Amazing Adventures of My Childhood in Cleveland: (And How I Survived) - Paperback

by Dawn S. Fleming (Author)

You might not think it is amazing or adventurous to grow up in Cleveland, Ohio. But as a little white girl, who lived on the east side in the 1960's, it was amazingly adventurous.

It was a time of racial tension and prejudice, which the young girl experienced firsthand; and it was the beginning of women's liberation, which she experienced through the eyes of her divorced mother, when divorce was socially taboo. The child witnesses-but does not fully understand-her father's mental illness, before the divorce, or her mother's difficulties as a single parent, after the divorce. Her daily life is defined by the family's sudden struggle with poverty, challenges with reliable childcare, and the mischief of unsupervised children. Tragedy, the loss of friends and family, and a changing neighborhood during the "white flight" of the 1960's cause instability and insecurity.Like many American children, her story evolves from the strong roots of an immigrant family, and Cleveland is the perfect melting pot. In addition to her own stories, the child recounts stories that her mother told about her own childhood as a young immigrant with parents who did not speak fluent English. The story is told with the wide-eyed innocence of youth. There was a lot to learn.