The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller Suzanne suffered five heart attacks and made it through open heart surgery. But even that pales in comparison to the horrors she faced as a young girl. Her childhood became the 'stuff of nightmares' after her father passed away and her mother, unable to get a job in Ireland, had to seek work in London. So 'Mammy' was forced into the heartbreaking decision to put Suzanne and her five siblings into church-run orphanages in Dublin while she worked away. It was just meant to be temporary. Her life soon became a daily struggle to avoid beatings with canes and rosary beads. Suzanne and the other children worked from dawn until midnight, living on disgusting scraps of food, while the nuns dined on fresh fruit, meat and cakes that the 'orphans' had cooked for them. Suzanne tried her best to shield her younger sisters from the terror of these hateful 'women of God'. But it was only the beginning of their troubles... Eventually, their mother returned from London, after four years, with enough money to take her children out and the family was reunited. However, too scared to speak out, the children vowed to take the horrors they had experienced at the orphanages to their graves. What really happened behind those church doors? This is Suzanne's heartbreaking and touching story.

Sophie Burden was raised on an historic dude ranch outside of Wickenburg, Arizona. She married Dom Echeverria, a Basque who proved both loving and explosive. Their life took them to the high Andes of Peru, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming, where they ran one of the largest ranching operations in the West and raised eight children. Alternately funny and tragic, you will find her remarkable memoir difficult to put down. Part II of her story, Look Both Ways Before Breaking the Law, delves into what happens to the family when Dom unexpectedly dies; the second of Sophie's children succumbs to cystic fibrosis after a life-long battle; and the oldest children marry and begin lives of their own. The family's courage-and outright shenanigans-are unmatched. A wonderful stand-alone read, Look Both Ways will have you running to the bookstore for Part I: When in Doubt, Step on the Gas. I strongly believe the term rip-snorting was created to describe the Echeverria clan. The second volume of this family saga is just as funny, sad, tragic, and life-affirming as the first. The story is amazing and Sophie is the writer to match it. -Tim Sandlin Best-selling author and screenwriter

Sophie Burden was raised on Remuda Ranch, an historic dude ranch established by her family outside of Wickenburg, Arizona. She could soon ride better than her unsteady toddler legs could walk. Her young, busy parents gave her and her brothers free rein by default, resulting in a wild, unconventional childhood. Sophie married Dom Echeverria, a Basque who proved passionate, loving...and explosive. Their life together took them to the high Andes of Peru, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming, where they ran one of the largest ranching operations in the West. Three of their eight children died of cystic fibrosis. Alternately funny and tragic, "When in Doubt, Step on the Gas" is a remarkable memoir you will find difficult to put down.