Squirrel Pie

A Memoir

By: Deborah Brannigan

Narrated by: Hope March

Detroit is a thriving blue-collar town in the 1970s, an era when alcoholism and dysfunction thrive behind closed doors. When fifteen-year-old Debbie accepts a new babysitting job, she has no idea that it will forever alter her life. Mac, father of the young children she cares for, slowly begins to groom Debbie with words of praise and flattery.

Longing for emotional connection she agrees to run away with Mac, only to find herself trapped in desperate poverty with a violent alcoholic. She raises three children on roadkill meals and makes herself small and compliant, waiting for someone to save her.

When Mac’s violence threatens more than just Debbie's life, she discovers the strength to say, “No more.” Little does she know, however, that leaving her abuser will involve a kidnapping, a murder, and an interstate FBI manhunt.

Squirrel Pie is a true story of the painful realities around abuse, addiction, mental illness, and generational trauma. It is also a success story; a story in which perseverance, resilience, compassion, and unexpected allies lead Debbie to a life of healthy connections and choosing joy.

©2025 DartFrog Books (P)2025 DartFrog Books

Heartbreaking rollercoaster of a memoir

Very well written first time novel/memoirist. Well paced with so much attention to detail. My heart was in my mouth and tears welling in my eyes for what Debbie had to go through as she was growing up. I highly recommend. Excellent narrator also.

Squirrel Pie

A very well written book that keeps you engaged and wondering how could someone survive all that she went through!! Her resilience is amazing and her talent as a writer great.