About the Author

Leslie Ferguson is an accomplished educator, editor, and writing coach. As a youth in foster care, she dreamed about becoming a teacher. After earning her teaching credential from the University of Redlands, she taught high school English at her alma mater for nearly two decades. During that time, she obtained a master's degree in English literature and an MFA in creative writing from Chapman University. Her work has been published in numerous literary magazines and anthologies. A member of the San Diego Memoir Writers Association and the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild, Leslie is a repeat performer at So Say We All's VAMP and Poets Underground. She lives with one husband and two cats in the greater San Diego area, where she binge-watches dark character dramas and reminisces about her glory days as an All-American basketball player and collegiate Hall-of-Fame athlete. When I Was Her Daughter is her first book. Visit the author online at LeslieFergusonAuthor.com.

Reviews

"This multilayered and nuanced memoir is a stunning account of family love and sacrifice." -Book Life Reviews
"It felt like a deep dive into the world of child welfare, abuse, and mental illness from a totally unique perspective, and it was delivered with the eloquence and emotional balance of someone who wants to help others whilst sharing her experiences."-Readers' Favorite Five-Star Review
"This brilliant memoir, a debut no less, has the insights, the epiphanies, and the ability to let the reader really live the life being documented. Not only is this an extraordinary narrative about a family challenged by mental illness and foster care, it gives voice to a greater sense of displacement and alienation. It also offers hope, love, and forgiveness. It is a book for our time-for all time-in that it's heartbreakingly beautiful and genuinely unforgettable. This memoir is absolutely not to be missed. There are not enough thumbs-up to give it. Read it! Now!"-Sue William Silverman, award-winning author of How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences
"When I Was Her Daughter is a gripping, visceral, page-turning memoir. With humor and heart, Ferguson tells the story of growing up with a seriously dangerous mentally ill mother, navigating the sometimes-terrifying-often-lonely foster care system, and ultimately finding a home. Unflinching, powerful, lyrical, and raw, this memoir is both heartbreaking and triumphant."-Marni Freedman, co-founder of The San Diego Writers Festival
"When I Was Her Daughter is a powerful and compelling memoir. Ferguson's gifted storytelling transports the reader to her childhood, a time filled with confusion, imagination, grief, and hope. This is a story that will break your heart and put it back together again."-Holly Kammier, best-selling author of Lost Girl
"In this haunting and heroic memoir, Ferguson captures the reader with her intense storytelling skills and invites us to cheer her on every step of the way. The book leaves inspiring moments of strength and resilience throughout to be captured and called on for our own forever. Brilliant breakout book!"-Sunny Rey, owner and creator of Poets Underground and Poets Underground Press