Based on true events: A deeply personal memoir of hope and childhood innocence triumphing over the harsh reality of poverty, misery and hardship, this story of alcoholism and resilience amid village life in post-war Germany will stir the melody in your own heart.Born as the eldest of six children, the author grew up in poverty, suffering the damaging and unsettling effects of a broken home. The story takes place in a North German village between the years 1950 and 1967. It describes the hardship of their everyday existence and the gradual deterioration and destruction of the author's family, due to her father's drunkenness and her mother's adultery. It shows the resilience of the young to cope in the face of such adversity and to extract some happiness from their immediate, miserable surroundings. The children were oblivious to their mother's despair and unhappiness, because they had to fight their own battles, being treated as outcasts by most of the village inhabitants, as the result of their drunkard father and embarrassing poverty. 'Maria's Melody' contains a good blend of drama, violence, poignancy, adultery and humour, as well as describing the role of women in the post-war era.