This is the biography of the book's author, Adeline Yen Mah.  The daughter of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman describes her very difficult childhood and the psychological abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepmother. 

When her mother dies giving birth to her, Adeline is considered bad luck by her family, thus when her father's new wife begins to treat her poorly while spoiling the others, Adeline can turn to no one for comfort and must endure the difficult times on her own, in a dramatic true story of bravery and triumph over adversity.