Biography & Memoirs on page 11

This Makes Me FREE takes you on a journey through the stages of my life as I overcame childhood abuse, the side effects of trauma, bullying, experiences of unhealthy relationships, promiscuity, substance use, issues with self-worth and self-acceptance. I share the highs and lows as I discover God, my power, my voice, and my F.R.E.E.DOM. This book is to inform, empower, and inspire others to take active steps towards their journey to F.R.E.E.DOM.

Steve Onicas Gaddis was number 10 of 12 children born to his mother, Mattie. He was placed into foster care at an early age, along with three other siblings. Conditions in his first foster home were appalling. Most can only imagine living with constant whippings, starvation, and scrounging for scraps thrown outside for the dogs. After several attempts to take his own life, Onicas was taken from the home. "If my story saves one person that ages out of the foster care system from a life of crime, drugs, etc..., then what I went through will be worth it." - Onicas

Eileen Flynn Cronin traces the story of her family and relates some of their experiences, as well as her own experiences growing up Irish-American. Some of these folks travelled across the sea to raise their families in New York, and specifically in that awesome, magical, mystical place known as “The Bronx”. While the circumstances and experiences described herein were unique to her family, this is a shared story of many Irish men and women, and immigrants in general, making their way in, and helping to build the great country known as the United States of America.