It was heartbreaking, eye-opening, moving, and inspiring. What an inspiring bring things into perspective book! Regina Calcaterra’s memoir Etched in Sand, A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island (HarperCollins Publishing, 2013) is a #1 international best-seller and a New York Times best-seller. Each story is horrific and moving with a unique version of living hell. Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island by Regina Calcaterra is the true story of the abuse and neglect the author and her siblings suffered through - at the hands of their mother and in a system that wasn't working as it should. She is the middle child of 5 siblings of 5 different but absent fathers, who suffer the abuses of their mentally ill, alcoholic and drug addicted single mother. I was going to give this book four stars but I know it will stay with me for a long time. Resilient, fiercely protective of each other, and remarkably wise scavengers, they discover means of survival independent of any parental support. Calcaterra's career in public service is not accidental; growing up with four siblings and an abusive, neglectful, alcoholic mother and an ineffective foster child. Regina and her four siblings su… Despite what the authorities told her—she survived—finished high school, went to college while working several jobs, and became a lawyer. This book, written by Regina Calceterra is about the lives of her three sisters and brother growing up with an alcoholic and an extremely emotionally, mentally and physically abusive mother. [was how other family members, teachers, neighbors ANYONE never seemed to be able to help. My new hero is Regina Calcaterra, a proud Long Islander, who rises to th. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. I understand how many have overwhelming case loads, but so often with this family they did more harm than good. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. 12. Regina notes that her childhood made her very aware of how people in power can impact the lives of others and this knowledge helped lead her to her present day career in public service. Read it! p. 17. Regina speaks nationally about her books messages and how we can all impact the life of a child in need. In a reading challenge I am doing for this site, I needed to read a book that featured SAND on the cover- I know, right? "To me, being a foster kid is a little bit like being a dog." Regina Calcaterra, who is now a highly successful public advocate lawyer involved in NYS Government, courageously shares the painful, desperate world of her impoverished childhood in suburban Long Island. I am sure each one of them must still carry many of the scars from their nightmarish past, yet they have decided to allow life not to be based on the nightmares of their past, but the opportunity and right to the joys of the future! Thank you Regina for giving a voice to, not only your siblings and yourself, but to thousands of children in need of love, proper care and the rights to the basic needs of life! This is one of those books where the subject matter is incredibly intense but you will be absolutely drawn to this story. Did it make you realize something that you perhaps took for granted? Each story is horrific and moving with a unique version of living hell. Revisiting a horrid past can be almost as damaging as living it! As a result of Etched in Sand’s messages of resilience, optimism, the plight of foster children, that no child is a lost cause and how we can all positively impact the life of a child in need, it has been integrated into college and high school curricula throughout the U.S. and been selected for community reads. Regina Calcaterra is a successful lawyer, New York State official, and activist. Readers have a lot to look forward to this year! Author: Regina Calcaterra. They experienced so much damage, mentally and physically from those closest to them, yet they have grown up to be so much more than their backgr. We’d love your help. I will never say that I am too tired, or that I cannot do or take it anymore. Doesn't the words to a poem supposedly written by the author sound so similar to the words penned by Woody Guthrie "You've Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley"???? It tells the story of five siblings dealing with an abusive, addicted mother who often left them to fend for themselves in trailer parks, abandoned homes, and homeless shelters. As these children did, they are afraid to tell for fear of being separated from their siblings, punished or other reasons so they carry the abuse in silence. Despite the extreme poverty and constant abuse from her mother, a fragmented education and unpredictable housing, Regina was able to help raise herself, and her siblings, to become stable adults and parents. Regina and her siblings lived through such horrible things at the hands of their mother and they come out on the other side and are able to overcome their situation. Though separated from the late Maya Angelou by age, race and geography, Regina Calcaterra is emerging as a next generation icon. The system has failed these children several times and does not have to answer to the harm they caused. It was really amazing to read this book where there are so many bad things going on and to see that good things can still come out of the bad. Just feast your eyes upon all of these debut books to check out and emerging authors to... Regina Calcaterra is a successful lawyer, New York State official, and activist. I’m standing and clapping right now. Girl Unbroken has also been integrated into college curricula alongside Etched in Sand. Regina Calcaterra's powerful memoir, Etched In Sand, begins with her flying over the ravaged neighborhoods of Long Island following the hurricane, Super Storm Sandy. What is the author's attitude towards foster care? Author of Etched in Sand Honest Book Review of ETCHED IN SAND A TRUE STORY OF FIVE SIBLINGS WHO by REGINA CALCATER Regina Calcaterra, author of Etched in Sand. Wonderful. The book exposes the inadequacies of our social and economic safety net, and highlights the vital role played public schools and libraries as safe havens and support. It's been proven that just because you can doesn't mean you should. Yes, in the end, they come back to each other and find a way for all 5 siblings to be a family again, but the price they pay to get there is dreadful. Refresh and try again. Sand and the use of their proper names in the forthcoming pages. Page: 320. Etched in Sand was voted St. Petersburg College's One Book - One College selection this year and I was privileged to spend time with the author following her presentation at the college's Clearwater, FL campus. Regina M. Calcaterra (born 1966) is an American attorney, a founding partner of Calcaterra Pollack LLP law firm, and a New York Times best-selling author. It could have ended with her first job, quickly summarized her adult life- possibly with a focus on her role as a leader in Long Island. You will never again take your toothpaste and brush for granted. Regina Calcaterra, Esq. A "mother" who is a drunk and uses her body to get what she wants, takes her children on a journey that will change them forever. Regina Calcaterra : "Etched in Sand" / Regina Calcaterra; sponsored by the Reading/BEP Department Call Number: Video HV885.L66 C35 2016 Recorded live at Nassau Community College on November 8, 2016. The story as to how Regina grew up to be the person she is today is candidly written and absolutely heartbreaking. Table of Contents. And it really just affirms my personal belief that you shouldn't be a. I don't know where to start this review other than to say this isn't a book for the faint of heart. I loved this book. Calcaterra tells a harrowing story growing up with an alcoholic, abusive and generally all- around despicable excuse of a human being for a mother. Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island Regina Calcaterra. When I was young we used to sing that in music class. Some comic relief, beautiful prose, a handle on your bitterness... anything. To see what your friends thought of this book, I will never say that I am too tired, or that I cannot do or take it anymore. Regina and her four siblings survived an abusive and painful childhood only to find themselves faced with challenges of strife and intermittent homelessness in the back alleys of Manhattan and Long Island. But it had none of these and so I read a little, then skimmed, then put it in a pile of stuff to give away. Heartbreak, abuse, and a broken system are what you find in this book. There are just too many stories available to any reader, in this day of instant access, of atrocities/horrors that have befallen a child, a person, an animal, a country of people. It makes a wonderful story when children from this sort of background are able to thrive as adults. When I was young we used to sing that in music class. Reading this book is made tolerable only by the fact that the reader is informed in the Prologue that it has a happy ending—an example of survival beyond expectations from a horrendous childhood family environment. Five little children all abused, a couple of them worse than the others with beatings and imprisonment, starvation and whatever else their mother (their five fathers were not present) could think up when she was present and not off on one of her months-long jaunts. I hate to consider how many examples may exist where children never manage to free themselves from the grip of poverty and abuse. Sounds fancy? Sometimes homeless, sometimes living in the worst of living conditions these children managed to survive. Who is Regina Calcaterra? I am still curious what happened in Cookie's past. is the bestselling author of Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island, which has been integrated into academic curriculums nationwide. Regina Calcaterra’s memoir Etched in Sand, A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island (HarperCollins Publishing, 2013) is a #1 international best-seller and a New York Times best-seller. Yes! This book brings to light the heart-wrenching account of Calcaterra's indigent childhood, the complete failure of her mother to care for her and her siblings, but also the failure of the foster care and social services system that is called upon to manage such children. And it really just affirms my personal belief that you shouldn't be allowed to just have kids. Her painful early life, however, was quite different. She and her four siblings are beaten, starved and do a better job of raising each other than when Cookie(they refuse to call her mom) stays home,. (Primi-Dieci Society and the Italy-American Chamber of Commerce, 2015). My Thoughts: Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island by Regina Calcaterra is the true story of the abuse and neglect the author and her siblings suffered through - at the hands of their mother and in a system that wasn't working as it should. Regina serves as the second vice chair to the SUNY New Paltz Foundation Board; and, on Advisory Committees for the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, You Gotta Believe, an organization that works to get older foster youth adopted; and The Felix Organization, an organization that provides inspiring opportunities and new experiences to enrich the lives of children who are growing in the foster care system. They lived their lives with a damaged mother who's contribution was to give birth to them then often leave them to fend for themselves, a flawed system that continued to fail these children and society's ability not to see what was happening to them! She is the middle child of 5 siblings of 5 different but absent fathers, who suffer the abuses of their mentally ill, alcoholic and drug addicted single mother. It is absolutely amazing how the author of this book and her siblings rose above their tragic childhood! Etched in Sand was voted St. Petersburg College’s One Book – One College selection this year and I was privileged to spend time with the author following her presentation at the college’s Clearwater, FL campus. First and foremost, this is a true-life memoir of hope and inspiration. I really struggled through parts of this book because you want to think that things can't get any worse but you know that they will and they do. I don't know where to start this review other than to say this isn't a book for the faint of heart. Regina Calcaterra’s memoir Etched in Sand, A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island (HarperCollins Publishing, 2013) is a #1 international best-seller and a New York Times best-seller.
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