Nowhere Girl

A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood

By: Cheryl Diamond

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens

By the age of nine, I will have lived in more than a dozen countries, on five continents, under six assumed identities. I’ll know how a document is forged, how to withstand an interrogation, and most important, how to disappear . . .

To the young Cheryl Diamond, life felt like one big adventure, whether she was hurtling down the Himalayas in a rickety car or mingling with underworld fixers. Her family appeared to be an unbreakable gang of five. One day they were in Australia, the next in South Africa, the pattern repeating as they crossed continents, changed identities, and erased their pasts. What Diamond didn’t yet know was that she was born into a family of outlaws fleeing from the highest international law enforcement agencies, a family with secrets that would eventually catch up to all of them.

By the time she was in her teens, Diamond had lived dozens of lives and lies, but as she grew older, love and trust turned to fear and violence, and her family—the only people she had in the world—began to unravel. She started to realize that her life itself might be a big con, and the people she loved, the most dangerous of all. With no way out and her identity burned so often that she had no proof she even existed, all that was left was a girl from nowhere.

Surviving would require her to escape, and to do so Diamond would have to unlearn all the rules she grew up with. Wild, heartbreaking, and often unexpectedly funny, Nowhere Girl is an impossible-to-believe true story of self-discovery and triumph.

©2021 Cheryl Diamond (P)2022 Algonquin Books

Critic reviews

"A riveting tale of trauma and resilience."—People

“Like Tara Westover’s Educated, Cheryl Diamond’s memoir tells the harrowing story of how crippling a childhood can be under the despotic narcissistic rule of a controlling father . . . Diamond has a powerful story to tell, and she tells it well, creating strong characters and settings, describing the complicated motivations of her parents and older siblings, all while conveying her yearning for ‘normalcy,’ whatever that is.”—New York Journal of Books

“A shocking rollercoaster ride of a story that shares secrets of life on the run but also asks big questions about what family means and who we truly are, no matter what the name on a passport might say.”—Town & Country

Fantastic

This is the only book that I have ever reread the moment I finished it. The story is captivating and the writing exceptional. The author's skill is as impressive as her story.

One of My Top 5 Best Audiobooks Ever

Such an amazing journey this woman has lived through and is able to articulate her tales so beautifully. I was pulled in from the very beginning and just felt her every word. It was fun, and disturbing, get's pretty hard in some areas but so worth persevering to the very last words. She deserves all the happiness life will bring her and is just so inspiring... Thank you Cheryl for sharing your story and can't wait to read your next one~ (The next chapters...)🙏🏻

Good story but I have questions.

What happened to Frank? What happened to her Dad? Those questions are just sitting with me.

Incredible story

It was so well written and hard to believe that anyone could make it in that type of situation.
A definite must read!!

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Nowhere Girl is a frightening account of a young woman who was born and raised by fugitive parents. It covers some dark topics- mental illness, and physical and sexual abuse, but at its core is the story of one woman’s determination to survive. The narrator was excellent.

Riveting!

Absolutely loved it! It is an unbelievable believable book. Truly fascinating! Would listen again.

A wild ride

Loved this story..of this messy family that was on the run with Nowhere Girl . Felt you were right there with her. There will be some unanswered questions ( about brother and father) in the end but life isn't tied up with a bow..and either is this book. Enjoy the ride..

What an amazing story!

After everything she went through, Cheryl Diamond is like a phoenix rising from the ashes!

Fascinating, But…

I really enjoyed this detailed memoir, but the detail was much of the problem. I had the hardest time accepting that a five year old could be aware of all the minute details of what people said, how they looked, what the surroundings were, who ate what, what she felt and as an adult, remember all this.
It kept taking me out of the story because that’s what it kept becoming, a story.
After I finished the book, I found some interviews on YouTube that showed the author talking, so I presume all is true. But still….
Anyway, I still really liked this memoir and the narrator was very good.

Fascinating story!

I kept having to remind myself that this is a true story and this really happened to this family. Seems so unbelievable. Great narrator!