Predestined for Reformation

About the Book

Living 'happily ever after' is uncommon after prolonged periods of childhood abuse. It's more like a near-fatal auto accident from which the victims retain permanent scars, but press on through life despite their lingering disabilities. In the case of Tony's family, a sadistic and malevolent mother was allowed to run unfettered thanks to a feckless father and an uninformed and impotent local system of child protective services.
Abused children are more likely to suffer from attention-deficit disorders, behavioral problems, reduced cognitive development, language deficiencies, emotional instability, poor self-regulation, low self-esteem, and an inability to cope with new or stressful situations. All of these attributes are significant factors in school readiness.
Prompt and effective responses to abuse can ameliorate or protect against many of these negative effects. If you suspect abuse, don't wait until you can 'prove' it. Make a report whenever your worries about the safety of a child turn into suspicions that the child is being mistreated. If the abuse is happening right now, report it right now!
If you need help or have questions about child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. Hotline counselors are available 365 days a year to help children and adults who are worried about children they suspect are being abused. You can call this number if you live in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. The call is both free and anonymous.

About the Author

Tony Roletti spent the first few years of his life watching his mother punch, kick, and beat his two older sisters with regularity. Gobs of the girls? hair could be found in heaps on the floor following many of his mother?s tirades. By the time his teenage sisters escaped from the family home, Tony was barely nine years old. The void created by their departure marked the beginning of his own period of torment, which lasted until he escaped the day following his high school graduation.

Tony was largely feral when he stepped into the outside world. At 18, he was devoid of social graces and had missed a significant portion of what the educational system had offered him. His attention during the previous nine years had been consumed by hostility - hostility that often escalated into vandalism when his meager attempts at anger management failed. It would take several years and a couple of jail sentences before Tony made the necessary behavioral adjustments that allowed him to conduct a normal-appearing life.

By the time he was 28, Tony was the lead government sociologist for research and evaluation for Project Head Start in Los Angeles County. During this time, he published his first book and served as a part-time member of the sociology faculty at the California State College at Los Angeles. Though his life now appeared to be heading in the right direction, the scars of his youth were apparent to the trained observer. He always viewed authority figures with suspicion and disdain. Even though he would go on to achieve significant professional success and gain substantial personal wealth, he would never develop an ability to function effectively in team-oriented settings, a short-coming that placed severe limitations on his career choices.