Bernie Lierow

The story that captivated a nation?how a horribly neglected little girl was rescued by her loving adoptive parentsIn July 2005, a six-year-old girl named Danielle was removed from her Florida home after authorities found her living in bug-ridden squalor, subjected to horrific neglect and so damaged by her own mother that recovery seemed hopeless. But hope was waiting for Dani?and help. In October 2007, Bernie and Diane Lierow, a hard-working couple with five boys of their own, adopted her and utterly transformed her life. This book tells the moving story of how the Lierows rescued Dani and helped her recover to the point where she can not only communicate, something once thought impossible, but can say of herself, ""I pretty.""Dani's story was featured on Oprah and the subject of a Pulitzer Prize-winning article published by the St. Petersburg TimesThe Lierows describe their struggle to adopt Dani, how they bonded with her and made a home for her, how they satisfied her craving for contact and stimuli, how Dani began to overcome her severe learning disabilities, how she learned she no longer had to steal food, and how their son Willie may be the greatest brother everFor readers who enjoyed Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope; Hope's Boy; and Sickened: The True Story of a Lost ChildhoodCharting a perilous journey from hardship to hope, a new family, and a second chance at life, Dani's Story is a book you cannot put down and will never forget.

Discover the extraordinary true-story by Diane and Bernie Lierow, in Dani's Story Dani was so severely neglected by her birth mother that she grew up knowing only squalor. She never went to school or the doctor, and rarely glimpsed sunlight. Desperately malnourished, she couldn't talk and had never been toilet-trained. The social worker who took her into care had never heard of a case so horrific. The doctors believed Dani would never recover from such a terrible start in life. Then she met the Lierows - a unique, blended family who were seeking to adopt a child. Despite being warned that she was way beyond hope of a normal life, they were instantly drawn to her and sensed a bright light behind her pale complexion. When they finally adopted her, they showered Dani with so much affection and encouragement that she came to life for the first time. Proving all the experts wrong, Dani would go on to open up and express herself in a way that no-one could have expected. Dani's Story is the remarkable and heartwarming memoir by Diane and Bernie Lierow, a testament to the power of kindness to overcome even what seem the most insurmountable challenges.Diane and Bernie Lierow are Dani's adopted parents, and as well as bringing up six children of their own they continue to act as foster parents. Their story about the astonishing Dani won a Pulitzer Prize for the St. Petersburg Times and was featured on Oprah. They live on a farm in Tennessee. Kay West has authored three books, and is a veteran journalist.