Sprinkled with all the southern flavoring found in a hearty bowl of chicken and dumplings, Breaking TWIG is a powerful coming of age novel and emotional roller-coaster ride set in rural Georgia in the '60s and '70s. It's the story of 13-year-old Becky (Twig) Cooper, who is trying to survive the physical and emotional abuse of her mother, Helen, a calculating woman who can, with a mere look, send the meanest cur in Sugardale, Georgia, running for its life. Not even Twig's vivid imagination and keen wit are enough to help her endure the assaults of Helen and a new stepbrother, but help comes from an unexpected source - Frank, her stepfather. Sometimes, having one person who believes in you is all a girl needs to keep hope alive.

Over the next eight years, Becky's tumultuous struggle to prevail - becoming neither a Pick (victim) nor a Picker (abuser) - finds her bouncing back and forth between Helen's abuse and Frank's tenderness as she fights to win this desperate battle of souls. Just as she begins to feel life holds some promise, Becky's world crumbles and she must make a shaky truce with Helen. On Halloween night, they argue and all lies are stripped away. Now that she knows the shocking truth, Becky must make a fateful decision - one that can give her the freedom and love she craves or send her to prison for life.

Often raw and irreverent, Breaking TWIG is a story about finding love where we least expect it, destroying lives with easy lies, and realizing each of us determines our own truth.