Ann August

Anywhere but Here follows the life of Ann August from the age of four to her early twenties, through a turbulent childhood with a difficult, emotionally unstable mother. Ann and her mother have a profoundly dysfunctional relationship. Ann is emotionally abused by her mother and there are disturbing scenes of mild sexual abuse or fondling, as well. In some ways, Ann overreacts to her mother's unpredictable behavior by taking on the role of an adult in the relationships. For example, when the two are traveling to California, it is 12-year-old Ann who wants to economize on hotels and worries about money.

As a young child, Ann is completely dependent on her mother financially and emotionally. It is particularly difficult for the young Ann to cope with her mother's unpredictable behavior, since Ann cannot tell when her mother is lying. When Adele tells a real estate agent in...