The trauma of being abandoned by their mother sets the stage for three children who met their father for the first time when they traveled to Atlantic City, New Jersey from Baltimore, Maryland. Their mother walked out of their lives after the train ride from Baltimore. A Dickens of A Life recounts the journey of the three children who first boarded with families in Atlantic City and Port Republic, New Jersey, later becoming wards of the state moving from one home to another before finally settling with foster parents in the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey. Told through the eyes of the author, Daniel, the memoir depicts bright and dark moments and his coming of age, rising to become an accomplished educator. The biographical memoir is told, in part, through a collection of personal and student writings deftly woven into an inspiring narrative as the author wrestles with the question of how a mother could abandon her children.