Freckles and Dirt Roads

In the midst of the great depression, three young boys are placed in a Midwestern orphanage after their mother's death. They are immediately thrust into a deeply-entrenched and well-organized culture of violence, intimidation, fear, and total domination by the older boys. Freckles and Dirt Roads is the story of Billy, the middle of these boys, of those who abused him physically and psychologically, and of others whose love and friendship helped him ultimately to assume a more normal place in society. This is a story of a boy's survival as he gradually emerges from a life of misery and despair to one offering hope and promise. This book records the memories of twelve years of this culture through Billy's eyes. It examines the impact of loss of family at an early age, violence and its perpetuation, the destruction of a system of near-slavery, and, through common suffering, the creation of a sense of family among the younger boys.