I am the second child of my single, underage mother

At age six I am my stepfather’s scapegoat and he starts to abuse me

At age twelve an unsuccessful attempt is made by my brother to report the fact that I am being abused to the police

At age thirteen I fall in love with my boyfriend

At age thirteen I hang out with older kids, start smoking hash and drinking alcohol

At age fourteen I use cocaine and other drugs for the first time

At age fourteen I am admitted to hospital and given treatment for months because my kidneys

At age fourteen my boyfriend starts using drugs

At age sixteen my mother decides that my child must be aborted

At age seventeen my boyfriend kills himself with a pump-action gun

At age seventeen I lose my mother and my faith in life

After my boyfriend’s death I try to kill myself in any way I can find, and my grandmother suffers from my misery

At age seventeen I have myself put on morphine at the same as taking methadone illegally

At age eighteen I live in isolation and depression and spend the nights on my lover’s grave

At age nineteen I am diagnosed as having cirrhosis of the liver and given treatment

At age twenty I am committed to a psychiatric clinic and after two months I try to escape by making fresh suicide attempts

At age twenty I am convicted of a violent offence and given a prison sentence; I refuse the treatment imposed

At age twenty-one I leave forced treatment, am clean for four months and after a relapse have myself put on methadone

At age twenty-two I no longer resist getting into a new relationship with a man

At age twenty-four I am happy with the birth of our daughter, three days later I am put in prison and given psychiatric treatment

At age twenty-four my child has disappeared and I discover that the Child Protection Service has placed her with a foster-mother

At age twenty-seven I hope to put my past and my isolation behind me