I’m Nobody: My Mother Said It; I No Longer Believe It

Erma Steppe

Dec 2010 · iUniverse

About this ebook

As sixteen-year-old Erma Steppe stood in a one-room apartment over a bar in Columbus, Ohio, her mother said to her, “You are nobody.” With no money, no clothes, and a rumbling stomach, Erma retreated into herself as her angry and intoxicated mother continued a familiar rant. Erma had always been her victim.

In her poignant autobiography, Erma Steppe shares her heartbreaking story of a life shaped by desperate attempts to hear the words “I love you” from her mother. Abandoned as a toddler, Erma’s quest for love would lead her through years of abuse, neglect, broken glass, blood, and black eyes— through an uncertain childhood spent in and out of children’s homes and foster homes. In her struggle to find her mother and reconcile her past, Erma embarks on an unforgettable journey through the darkness of abuse to reach a new life on the other side where she would eventually learn to heal, forgive, and most importantly, feel safe and loved.

I’m Nobody offers a brutally honest glimpse into what it is like to grow up without a mother’s love and how one woman reached from within and found the courage to survive despite facing insurmountable odds.

Ratings and reviews

Knowing Erma as I have for years and yet not knowing her until reading this book, it's hard to understand how her life experiences have not made her bitter and mean. It's remarkable how someone who was so unloved by the very ones who should have, was able to be so compassionate with others. This book also testifies of how much a child wants to be loved and accepted by their mother. The abuse and neglect a child can endure and still love a parent who never showed love. The bond that is naturally there unless that bond is destroyed by terrible circumstances. I believe this is a good book for anyone who is thinking of foster parenting. It would also be a good read for an expecting mother. This book does not read like a novel, it is more like Erma telling her story and expressing her feelings. I love my friend Erma and her sister Susie, Two women who endured so much abuse and yet have so much love to give.

Believe humans are born into love. This is the ultimate betrayal for a child but how remarkable this child became to be. Child usually follow suit. Love this story