At the age of nine, Alton Carter left home and walked himself into foster care with a dream of someday having a normal life. Not a fancy life. Not a rich life. No, he dreamed of a life without abuse and with regular meals, a warm home in the winter, and a family that made sure you got to school each day on time. Building on his award-winning books The Boy Who Carried Bricks and Aging Out , Carter shares not only more of his own personal stories of survival and hope but also poems he wrote to cope with the ups and downs of being a foster child. The book contains a section where the reader can journal too--be it with words, sketches, or their own poems. A former foster child and police officer, Alton Carter is the author of the award-winning nonfiction books The Boy Who Carried Bricks and Aging Out . A graduate of Oklahoma State University, he makes his home in Oklahoma.