Victoria Stott's story begins with her early memories of being raised by her adoptive parents on Canadian Forces Bases during the 1970s. Her older brother, also adopted, initiated a campaign of relentless torment and sexual abuse against Victoria that persisted for years and led her to contemplate suicide. He bullied their parents as well, and at one point Victoria thought that killing him would be the best solution for everyone.

A summer job working at a pool was the beginning of her breaking away from her family and the small town she lived in. But pregnancy and marriage to a...