Congratulations to Alycia Vreeland and Vine Leaves Press on the release of Baby Darlin', an illustrated memoir that rips off the band-aid and exposes the stigma around child sexual abuse.
★★★★★ “Raw and emotionally fraught.” ~Leslie Zemeckis, bestselling author of Feuding Fan Dancers
Baby Darlin'
NEW RELEASE: September 15, 2024Genre: Memoir
4.87 stars, 15 ratings on Goodreads
Paperback: $19.99
Ebook: $6.99
Most of them are dead.
Silence is broken and the secret unearthed.
Surviving the Cajun Curse, her mentally ill momma calls her Baby Darlin'. Pig calls her Brillo and takes away her innocence by using her to escape his own twisted mind. Her cousin Willy calls her Snaggle but she doesn't care; she thinks they will marry someday. Her Papa, a recovered alcoholic, her hero. Her Grandma, the ever present Shamer, is a dark shadow to remind her of her worth. Her drug and love addiction takes her through a series of abusive love stories, and finally she proudly escapes into the loving arms of a higher power.
This illustrated memoir brutally rips off the band-aid and exposes the stigma around child sexual abuse, with compassion and insight through the eyes of a brave little girl called Baby Darlin'.
If you If you enjoyed Just Kids by Patti Smith, Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker, or The Fire Never Goes Out by ND Stevenson, you will love Baby Darlin'.
Praise for Baby Darlin'
★★★★★ “Vreeland tells her story with searing revelations, accompanied by colorful illustrations.” ~Leslie Zemeckis, bestselling author of Feuding Fan Dancers
★★★★★ “Bold and vibrant with disturbing imagery... I wanted to swoop in and save Baby Darlin' from the atrocities of her childhood. The whimsical art and poignant words that are scattered throughout the pages kept me tethered to the hope of a happy outcome, pulling me forward to the last pages.” ~Sandra Mistretta, Clinical Director for Casa Serena Treatment Programs for Women
★★★★★ “Alycia tells her story in typical Santa Barbara flavor; not a trace of self pity, because SB kids know… no one cares. Instead, we mine our tragic ore-pits for gasps and laughs, to the horror of the untraumatized. But our stories aren’t FOR them. They are for the broken and beautiful survivors; broken Japanese teapots, glued back together with gold.” ~J.C. Scales, author of The Goat Lady’s Son
★★★★★ “Equally heart shattering and heart warming. [Alycia] safely takes her readers on her exceptional and profoundly inspiring journey from wounding through healing and beyond.” ~Juliana Barros, Integration and Collective Trauma Therapist, State Certified Sexual Survivor Therapist
About the Author
Alycia Vreeland teaches art to little people near the American Riviera, writes about Baby Darlin’ in her memoir, and plots revenge. She is soothed by taking one day at a time, twirling her hair, eating nachos, and feeling the Santa Barbara waves crashing on her toes. Her art is featured in the documentaries The Cure and Guns, Bombs, and War: A Love Story, and in the online journals Tuck Magazine, Rebelle Society, Painted Cave, and The Montecito Journal. Learn more at alyciavreeland.com.
About the Publisher
Vine Leaves Press likes to blur the line between commercial and experimental works. They publish book-length vignette collections, writing reference books, short story collections, memoir/autobiography, and character-driven novels with a literary bent. Subscribe to the Vine Leaves Press newsletter to receive FREE advanced review copies of upcoming new releases, news about their authors and subscribers, and/or to read the monthly opinion column, SPILL IT! or a daily dose of 50-word stories. Learn more at VineLeavesPress.com.