Kathleen Buckley's
Biography

I was born in 1964 in Northern Michigan. During my childhood I was the victim of emotional, mental and physical abuse from alcoholic parents. I was sexually abused by another relative and bullyed in school. During college I became a binge drinker and quickly progressed to blackout drinking. This resulted in the loss of my daughter, who was adopted into a stable home where she was loved and protected. I attended several treatment programs and underwent 15 years of therapy, but never could really get sober. I was 26, I married and had two children. He divorced me and after a ugly custody dispute, lost them to my ex-husband.

I remarried for a second time, but he left me when he relapsed on crack cocaine. After he left, I self-medicated with crack cocaine and alcohol. One day I stepped into a grateless city utility hole, shattering my ankle and heel, making me unable to work. I was forced to move to a homeless camp and lived in the woods for four years with other homeless people. Many times I ate out of dumpsters and panhandled to make money to buy crack, cigarettes and beer. After meeting my friend Richard, I moved out of the woods and credit the positive changes in my life to his caring, along with the positive people I now associate with.

I now enjoy living in Tallahassee at home with my roommates and dogs. Maxie was with me through all my experiences of being homeless. She's 13 now; she's protected me and been my best friend through all my adventures.

My mentor, who has helped me through many difficulties, encourages me to write and to expand on my writing, including short stories based on being homeless, recipes from the dumpster, poetry and more musings.

I hope that writing my experiences might be helpful to other women who find themselves in unthinkable situations.

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