The First 22 Years Are the Hardest: A Memoir: coming of age with a baby on the hip and hope for happily ever after

By the time she is thirteen, Angela Giles Klocke has already learned what it feels like to have her safety stolen by the very people who were supposed to protect her. Surviving sexual assault, child abuse, and deep poverty, she believes that love might be her escape—and that happily ever after might finally make her life make sense.When she meets Dewayne, Angela clings to the promise of a different future. What follows is a relationship that slowly erases her voice, her confidence, and her sense of self, stretching from her teenage years into adulthood. Yet even as her world grows smaller, one thing refuses to die: her hope.This is not just a story about abuse. It is a story about endurance, awakening, and the quiet, stubborn courage it takes to imagine something better—even when everything in your life has taught you not to.Written with raw honesty and deep compassion, The First 22 Years Are the Hardest speaks to survivors, supporters, and anyone who has ever wondered how someone stays—and how they find the strength to leave.Content Warning: This book contains discussions of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.