Seven-year-old Leslie has a serious problem: Someone is trying to kill her.

Leslie and her little brother must confront the stark reality of living with their mother’s raging psychosis. When her mother demands the impossible, Leslie attempts to control the chaos. But her obedience results in terrifying consequences, and her rebellion angers her mother, who writes rambling manifestos and forces her children to live on the run to evade the Russian spies she believes are after them. Her ultimate goal is to protect her children from capture even if it means she has to kill them herself in order to save them.

Eventually, the police place Leslie and her brother in foster care. Freedom from her mother’s paranoia and violent tendencies offers the young girl a glimmer of hope, but she plummets into despair under the oppressive weight of alienating, abusive homes. All seems lost…until a teacher intervenes and risks everything to bring Leslie to safety, show her the redemptive power of trust and patience, and prove unconditional love is possible, even without the bond of blood.

When I Was Her Daughter is a raw, honest account of one girl’s traumatic childhood journey through madness, loss, and a broken foster care system, where only the lucky and most resilient survive.