The book opens with a dedication:
“This is for all those Children of The Secret who refused to imitate their oppressors.
Pain-forged in the cruelest crucible
Reborn as the finest of our species
Protecting as they were never protected
Transcenders
who give us all
Another Chance to Get It Right”
As a fellow Child of the Secret, this really resonated with me.
The book is beautiful, lyrical, and full of heart.
It contains several short stories about children in various kinds of peril and how the danger in their world shapes who they become later.
It’s heavy subject matter that could easily be mismanaged, but it is performed with tenderness and wisdom by narrator Joe Lansdale.
I would recommend this book for anyone who has a child. Its honesty and it’s message are striking, and moved me to tears on more than one occasion.