Do I Dare

A fictional memoir of survival, "Do I Dare" tells the story of a young deaf woman who recalls her harsh, tumultuous past & childhood spent in extreme poverty, abuse, disability and homelessness.

Returning to America from her vagabond travels, Tullamore Booker begins writing a college admission essay with no filter, no limits and no regard for formalities. With an abusive, raging alcoholic father with black market ties and a junkie prostitute mother, it's not hard to image how she got her name after a brand of Kentucky whiskey. After finally escaping their childhood home of abuse, neglect and extreme Appalachian poverty, Tulla and her older brother, Robbie, hang on by threads and well-meaning little white lies.

Tulla recalls every wayward, complicated event that made her into the person she is today, recalling how she was kicked out of the private school she lied so elaborately to get into, hoping it'd be her one chance of normalcy. In and out of foster care and dodging law enforcement, Tulla befriends Whitney, the public school guidance counselor, who helps her land the miracle opportunity of Cochlear Implant surgery. With her new senses, she discovers the world of music, in her own way. Eventually finding inspiration and refuge in a passionate radio show host, who takes her under his wing as an intern and introduces her to a world of therapeutic honesty and eternal compassion for others in time of need.

Tullamore Booker leaves no detail out of all her battle scars and journeys into the unknown, telling her story of defying odds and overcoming the daunting possibility of becoming a product of your environment.