Etched in Sand
A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island

I don't know where to start this review other than to say this isn't a book for the faint of heart. As a parent myself, there were parts of this book that were really hard for me to digest because I don't know how a person could care so little for their child, let alone five children. I really strug......more

Reading this book is made tolerable only by the fact that the reader is informed in the Prologue that it has a happy ending—an example of survival beyond expectations from a horrendous childhood family environment. It makes a wonderful story when children from this sort of background are able to thr......more

Etched in Sand .... This book put me through the wringer, and I was just the reader. Regina Calcaterra shares with us the brutal, torcherous, and horrendous abuse she and her 4 siblings endured at the hand of the mother Cookie Calcaterra. I am not sure I have felt such intense hatred for a charachte......more

This inspirational book about the lives of a family of foster siblings was a very good read. It’s a great feeling to read about someone who against tremendous odds ends up succeeding & thriving in her personal & professional life. This novel’s story also kind of hit close to home because of its sett......more

Etched In Sand arrived yesterday- I was up into the wee hours of the morning to finish this beautifully written, compelling memoir. Regina Calcaterra, who is now a highly successful public advocate lawyer involved in NYS Government, courageously shares the painful, desperate world of her impoverishe......more