An autobiographic account of her youth, M.J. Henry's “From the Inside Looking Out” offers a first-hand view of life in the poor, rural south. She knew early in her life that her family was totally dysfunctional. They were not normal and did not live like other people lived. For most of her life, she has lived under the misconception that if you don't talk about it, it will go away or maybe it isn't true. They were very poor and didn't know how poor they were until they were older and could see how other people lived. Being poor and dysfunctional are two totally different things. Many people were and still are poor, and that is no shame. It's only shameful when you don't do all you are capable of to overcome it. Verbal and mental abuse have no limits. As an adult, M.J. was having nightmares and horrible dreams about her childhood. She'd heard and experienced that if you put things on paper that it would change the whole perspective in one way or another. She had been praying long before daylight for God to give her some answer for what she should do and how to deal with the future. Later that morning, the inspiration came to her that she should write a book about her life. She felt that she owed it to herself, her children, and grandchildren and all of the others who whispered behind our backs, and to those who were involved in some way. Once M.J. poured out her heart and soul on paper, the dreams stopped!
