Early on in little Essie Mae’s life her home is burnt down. For any child, such trauma can cause drastic emotional disaster. Her safe haven was completely destroyed and as a child it is also hard to take all of that in. It did not help that her father abandoned their family to be with another, much lighter-skinned, woman named Florence. This caused undeniable damage to her mind-set and opinion of what a family was and her thoughts towards marriage. Though this was a terrible event it helped her become the stronger girl that she was. During her childhood, a time that most people say is supposed to be the best years, Essie Mae learned and grew from her hardships and she dealt with much more difficult situations from