Chapter 1 - Chapter 9 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 1 - Cyndi Lauper leaves home in Ozone Park, Queens, at the age of seventeen, bringing along the book "Grapefruit" by Yoko Ono. She leaves behind her mother, a waitress, and her younger brother. Her other sister, Elen, has already moved out. Lauper leaves home because her stepfather is physically abusive, and a pedophile. This prompts Elen to tell Cyndi to come to her apartment, which she does. Cyndi's real father is a shipping clerk at a watch factory, and is musically inclined. He lives at the Washington Hotel in downtown Manhattan. Cyndi's mother is in love with music and art, and Cyndi learns how to play guitar from a book by Mel Bay. Cyndi grows up listening to the Supremes, the Beatles, Broadway albums, and classical music. Through high school, Cyndi listens to Janis Joplin, Jimi...