In the fall of 1945, five-year-old Tommy McClarren was placed in the German St. Vincent Orphan Home in St. Louis, Missouri, where he would live and go to school for the next nine years. Whether facing Sister Monica in a makeshift boxing ring, scheming to get his prized dice back from Sister Gilbert, or engineering a Robin Hood-style theft of the Chapel coffers right under Sister Columbo's nose, he transformed adversity into one adventure after another. Unlike most orphans, Tom now regards his time spent at the Home as a gift. Eager to offer a different perspective on what many people consider neglected unfortunates, he has compiled his most compelling tales into this candid, witty memoir of a gutsy orphans life. "When a natural born storyteller is placed in an orphanage, he creates magic only found in fairytales. Thanks to his daughter, we can now share these engaging stories told with love and sure the challenge your perceptions." Bill McClellan, columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch "I learned more about the 'Home' reading Tom's book than in all my years as its director of boys' athletics. It's obvious that German St. Vincent's Orphan Home was a very positive transition in the lives of so many young people." Ron Holtman