Carolina Maria de Jesus' autobiographical book Child of the Dark is a chilling story of survival and redemption. During her time as a young single mother living in a ghetto, she kept a diary the entries of which are published in this book. Raising three children under nine on her own, she writes about the horrible conditions of her life. She receives child support from the youngest's dad, but it barely helps. She spends most of her days scavenging through trash for scraps of metal which she can sell or trade for food. Usually she's successful, but sometimes they're forced to starve or eat rotten food which some local chefs dump out at the entrance to the favela -- slum. Remaining optimistic, De Jesus wants to realize her dream of publishing her writing. When a journalist named Audalio Dantas likes some of her political pieces, he helps her get more and more of her writing published. Eventually she's able to makes plans for leaving the favela with her children.
The really gripping part of this story is its truth. De Jesus is writing about herself and real situations which she survived. At once beautiful and heartbreaking, she describes the utter loneliness of her existence in the favela. Nobody looks after anybody but themselves, and here De Jesus is raising three children entirely alone. When accusations against her sons starts surfacing, she decides that no matter what she will help her family escape this place. Interestingly enough she takes a Buddhist approach to accomplishing this goal by following her bliss. She uses her love of writing and a commitment to patience in order to make enough money to help them afford to move. De Jesus could've approached the problem of poverty, but she chooses a more centered approach by doing the thing that she loves so well that she deserves recognition. Essentially she is successful because she has the integrity to make her work good.
Another intriguing aspect of these diary entries which warrants comment is De Jesus' paranoia. Repeatedly throughout the story she confesses to readers her secret suspicions about people. She neither trusts them to be stupid nor to be good. Her genuine beliefs in some pretty untenable theories seem to be demonstrative of some sort of schizo-effective condition. Loosely translated, she has a delicate grip on reality. This also show up whenever De Jesus discusses her writing process. To her, she is entering an entirely different world when she writes, a form of therapy for her. While indulging the imagination is normal and acceptable for an artist, De Jesus usually allows her imagination to run away with her.
