Change me into Zeus's daughter - Barbara Robinette Moss

In this stunning memoir about growing up in a poor family dominated by an alcoholic father, Barbara Robinette Moss recalls in poignant detail the bitter intimacy of his abuse and the fierce devotion of her mother. A woman who nurtured a love of poetry and art in her eight children despite constant threats of violence, starvation and homelessness. Lack of proper nutrition and medical care left Moss with a "twisted mummy face" and a remarkable determination to banish the visible scars of her past. This book is the inspiring story of how that came to pass, of how she was able to compose a life marked by beauty in all its manifestations.

Barbara Robinette Moss, author of the acclaimed memoir Change Me into Zeus's Daughter, is a full-time artist and writer whose awards include the Gold Medal for Personal Essay in the William Faulkner Creative Writing Competition (1996), the Iowa Authors Award (2000), and the Alabama Authors Award (2002). She lives with her husband in Iowa City, Iowa.

USA Today Elegant and moving...nothing short of Angela's Ashes for Americans, beautifully written in the female voice.

People A story of overcoming -- of a little girl who discovered moments of beauty within daily despair and managed to transcend the brutality to become a loving mother and wife and successful artist.

The New York Times Book Review Heartbreaking...we can't help being moved by the image of a damaged little girl looking up at the sky, trying to make sense of a world turned to shambles by the big folks.