When she was fourteen years old, April Joy wanted nothing more than a marriage of mutual love and respect and a family of her own. It was then, in 1962, that she met Dean, a young soldier stationed nearby, and fell in love with his good looks and caring, attentive persona. He was the man of her dreams; she was sure of it. She was too young to get married; even so, shortly after they became involved they decided to have a child together. At just fi fteen years old, April learned that she was pregnant with the child of a man who was deployed overseas, and she dropped out of high school. It wasn't until she was eight months pregnant that her father finally gave his consent for her marriage to Dean-a marriage that soon turned sour once Dean returned from his time overseas. April was a teenaged mother, a high school dropout, and a victim of domestic abuse. After twenty-two years of violence, she finally divorced her husband. Despite dropping out of high school, she was able to go back to school, earn a degree, and work her way up the ranks to the role of director of information systems. In this inspiring story of survival and success, author April Joy shows the world that a determined woman is more than the mistakes she makes as a girl. With patience and perseverance, we can all enjoy the fruit of success.