THE AUTHOR'S father was the editor-in-chief of Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia when he met her mother at a burlesque club. She was 20 years younger and a headliner there. They soon married and went on to have three daughters, moving to Palm Beach and buying a luxurious house that once belonged to Robert "Believe It or Not" Ripley. The family appeared to have it all in the celebrity-rich Florida city, but the reality was very different. Behind closed doors, the Morse family was troubled. The Difficult Girl describes a family damaged by past wounds and ongoing misfortune, impossible to escape despite their circumstances. Mental illness and utter heartbreak were an ever-looming specter. The book ends in tragedy but with bittersweet resolution.