Eleven-year-old Manxie just wants to believe in herself. Known as the odd duck of the family, she hides a dark secret: she is a victim of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. She somehow survives the abuse by making friends and achieving a place on the honor roll at school. But when someone offers her drugs during her tumultuous teenage years, Manxie succumbs to the temptation, welcoming the temporary relief from her pain. Forced into the working world at age fourteen to support her family, she soon learns that the only one she can depend on is herself. But it is when she becomes a mother that Manxie finally discovers the power of unconditional love. Desperate to break free of the chains of her upbringing, she seeks out a better existence-not only for her son, but also for herself. Breaking the Chain is the story of one woman's courageous struggle to find confidence, stay focused on the future instead of the past, and never again let anyone take her beautiful spirit away. Helen K. McCarthy grew up in a world of turmoil and abuse of every kind. Her lowest point was putting a needle with heroin in it in her arm as a young teenager. Today, she is a successful author of both children's books and a general fiction trilogy, including "Breaking The Chain," "Single Mothers Don't Sleep Naked," and "The Broken Chain." Now worth nearly two million dollars, Helen hopes her stories inspire others facing similar hardships to find the strength to break free from their struggles.