Chapter 1

I guess I should introduce myself and tell you about me and my family. My name is Sue Donaldson. I am the youngest of 5 kids, three girls and two boys. At the time this story starts I am 16 years old and a senior in high school. I am the youngest senior, due to my birthday and my brains. I go to a public school in Helena, Ark. The schools were desegregated a couple of years ago and all the white kids from better families go to a private “Christian” school. My family can’t afford the tuition.

Now a little about my family.

I was raised in a three bedroom trailer. My parents slept in one room, my brothers in another, me and my two sisters in the other. Crowded was the word for it. But now I have a bedroom all to myself.

My oldest sister, Bev, got married a couple of years ago and lives with her husband up near Memphis. He is some type of engineer at a plant and they have a nice house. She is 4 months pregnant at this time. She is my role model. I want to be just like her and have a life like hers.

My two brothers got caught growing marijuana and are serving time in a federal prison. The sister closest to my age ran off with a Mexican. They live up in Kansas and work at a slaughter house. She has told us that he slaps her around sometimes, but only when she deserves it or when he is drunk. Definitely not my future if I can help it. Do you get the picture of my family? Let’s just say that if you looked up the definition of poor white trash in the dictionary you would find our family photo.