The author describes in detail the conflict, both emotional and ideological, with her parents. Patti Davis, daughter of the former US President, Ronald Reagan, tells the story about the relationship of a very unusual and disturbed girl with a very unusual and disturbed family. From the moment of her birth, seven months after the Reagan's marriage, Patti Reagan was always a source of discomfort to her parents, particularly to her mother, Nancy. The Reagan's claimed Patti was born prematurely. As Patti matured, there were many dark, and often harrowing scenes behind the doors in the Reagans's meticulously cared for home in Pacific Palisades. Patti Davis examines the family dynamics: how her mother could be strong and nurturing one minute then cruel the next, how her father, scarred by his own childhood in an alcoholic home, abandoned his daughter emotionally. It is a story of bitter rivalries, uncontrollable rage and destructive impulses. Patti Davis reveals many painful family secrets, as well as her own drug taking, promiscuity and suicidal urges.