Between Two Trailers

“[Trent] captivates with this coming-of-age memoir about her parents’ mental illnesses, her realizing the meaning of home, and yearning to belong … This debut is everything fans of memoirs could hope for: a beautifully written, searing and honest tribute to family.”—Library Journal, starred review“A potent memoir about a young woman’s escape from a toxic childhood … [and] a powerfully intimate look into the struggles of American poverty and mental illness.”—Kirkus Reviews“Fans of Jeannette Walls and Tara Westover will be drawn to Trent’s blend of grit and hope.”—Publishers Weekly“In a striking narrative of childhood trauma survival, Between Two Trailers pulls you into every breathless moment with ‘Budgie.’ Readers that exhale while rising beside her will find hope in the sweet air of redemption.”—Carine McCandless, New York Times bestselling author of The Wild Truth “If Dana Trent’s books were truthful, that would be enough. If they were elegantly written, that would be even better. If they spoke straight to the hearts of her readers, that would make her a writer worth reading. In fact, they are all of these things, encompassing what it means to be human on this earth, making reality more bearable because it is so clearly a reality we share. Between Two Trailers reminds me of that again.”—Barbara Brown Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Learning to Walk in the Dark“Hopeful, hilarious, and full of resilience and redemption, Between Two Trailers is delightfully messy and deliciously rare. Each chapter ventures deeper into the author’s riveting background—a world most of us were spared from. The whole journey is weighted with important reminders of how trauma-informed stories can both educate and heal us. Dana Trent provides a road map for assembling the different parts of one’s psyche that are so often split and shattered during childhood.”—Sarah Edmondson, actress and author of Scarred“How often do you come across a story about a grocery-store, kiddie-ride, drug-trafficking business? It’s a tough tale to tell, but Trent communicates it with winsome charm.”—Jonathan Merritt, contributing writer for The Atlantic “Come for the luscious prose and ludicrously good plot. Stay for a story about home that will haunt you with its beauty―and unflinching truth.”—Erin S. Lane, author of Someone Other Than a Mother“Between Two Trailers is a memoir in the vein of great literary coming-of-age narratives like The Liar’s Club and This Boy’s Life.”—Micha Boyett, author of Blessed Are the Rest of Us

J. Dana Trent is a speaker, professor, award-winning author, and minister. A graduate of Duke Divinity School, she teaches world religions and critical thinking at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina.