~ Lylas
(love you like a sister)
By: Latoya Lee

Broken and defeated by loveless, abusive foster homes coupled with enduring the mean streets of New York City renders three, innocent little girls calloused and hopeless. Rescued and adopted as grown children, they thought the pain was over. But could the promise of family and a real future abolish the scars deep in their souls? Was their sudden ‘rags to riches’ fairy tale enough to heal over half a decade of unspeakable abuse and violence?

Lylas (love you like a sister), told from one sister’s perspective, takes you into the lives of three sisters, post-adoption. Oldest sister Sasha assumed the role of ‘mother’ to her two sisters until Margaret came along. Never able to forge a relationship with her adoptive parents, Sasha grew disconnected and vacant, later succumbing to the lure of the night life. She turns to alcohol and prostitution to comfort her, feeding her with the unwavering dependability she so deeply desired. Middle child, Tricia, hardened and wounded, can’t seem to escape the painful memories of childhood neglect and cruelty. Her abandonment issues shackle her to a seemingly lifelong fear of intimacy as she grapples with drug abuse, eating disorders and agonizing loneliness. Little sister Laila, naïve and vulnerable, develops penetrating issues of her own despite the years of coddling and nurturing shown to her from all in her path. Her naïveté later gives way to victimization as she is reduced to a mere target for every physically abusive man and woman with which she becomes intimate.

The story draws on real life events to tell the tale of the sisters’ journey from childhood to adulthood, documenting poignant trials and tribulations along the way. The girls find that the brutal beginning that once cemented their bond ultimately becomes the wedge that fragments their fragile relationship, nearly destroying their connection forever. Through patience, understanding, spirituality and love, the sisters fight to find their way back into one another’s lives and hearts.