Out from the Underworld

Heather Siegel was six years old when her mother disappeared, sending her father into a tailspin that took Heather and her siblings down with him—from a comfortable suburban home to a barely habitable basement apartment, a dark world they soon found themselves fighting to return to from the exile of foster care, then fighting even harder to escape. Forty years later, Heather Siegel tells the remarkable story of how she and her siblings, Jaz and Greg, banded together to find out what happened to their mother and fight their way Out from the Underworld with nothing but their wits, determination, unbreakable bonds and gifts for humor and compassion to sustain them. A wrenching, inspiring story filled with heartbreak, hope and love, Out from the Underworld will move you to laughter and tears.

Praise for OUT FROM THE UNDERWORLD

“A graduate summa cum laude of the school of hard knocks, Heather Siegel has written this dark, riveting memoir with refreshing if mordant humor, rueful tenderness and compassion. She is a stunningly gifted storyteller.”

— Phillip Lopate, author of The Art of the Personal Essay

“Heather Siegel has taken the raw material of an unusually deranged childhood and fashioned a piece of writing so smart, funny and insightful that, as we read, we see the narrator growing from a street-smart little cynic into a remarkably understanding woman. More one cannot ask of any memoirist.”

— Vivian Gornick, author of The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative

“Out from the Underworld documents not only Heather Siegel’s survival of a brokenchildhood, but also how Siegel forged a life beyond any label of ‘victim’ or ‘damaged.’ It serves as a beacon guiding pathways of possibility for others to follow.”

— Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“Heather Siegel’s memoir is heartbreaking, but also filled with the kind of dark humor that will have any reader turning pages, eager to keep up with her masterful storytelling. It examines some of life’s greatest tragedies with a redemptive insight that is inspiring and illuminating.”

— Julia Fierro, author of Cutting Teeth

“Heather Siegel has written a funny, painfully honest and ultimately inspiring coming-of-age memoir. Her story of escaping a dysfunctional family is a great read.”

— Alan Rinzler, Consulting Editor