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 house that once belonged to Robert "Believe It or Not” Ripley. With a backdrop of Palm Beach and a life of privilege, the Morses appeared to have it all, but the reality was very different. Behind closed doors, the family was troubled. The Difficult Girl describes close relations 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 a bittersweet resolution.