Swimming Upstream

This is an autobiographical account of the life of a child named Queen, who was born to a mother who hated her from the moment of conception and did not even acknowledge her as a daughter. This child was abused both physically and mentally, unlike her younger brother and sister, who were favored and pampered. The fatherless family lived in grinding poverty. The young girl had to grow up quickly. She was often the only one who was providing for the family. In spite of her mother’s tyrannical prohibition of her having any relationships with the opposite sex, Queen was raped while still a teenager and gave birth to her first child. The only thread of joy and hope in this story is Queen’s relationship with her great-grandfather. The day her great-grandfather died, Queen wanted to die with him.