Dorothy Tristan expertly tells her incredible life story through the eyes of her adolescent self. Honest, innocent, and poignantly self-aware, her voice grabs you from the start. Almost like pages from her childhood journal, Joy Street captures the difficult early years of her now-accomplished life.

Long before she was a Ford model, Hollywood actress, and screenwriter, young Dorothy was the daughter of a pro-Nazi father, forced to cover up her older siblings' nefarious deeds. Unsure whether she might be yelled at, kicked, whipped, or scalded with boiling water on any given day, she approached life with low expectations.

But all that changed when she spent two weeks with the Nichols family-a family whose members actually loved each other and chose kindness over violence. Through her time with the extended family, Dorothy met Aunt Mabel, a generous older woman who saw something special in this young stranger and wanted to better her life.

A heart-wrenching story of a young girl trying to make the best decisions she can from the limited knowledge she has, Joy Street is ultimately a tale of gratitude as the grown woman recalls the person who changed her life.