In 1990, American news magazine 20/20 first showed the world the horrible conditions that many of Romania's orphans encountered on an almost daily level each and every day. The images and videos of these orphanages, run down and almost in shambles, inhabited by children who looked barely living and nonhuman, shocked the world. Almost immediately, there was an international outcry, and an outpouring of international adoptions and aid into the country to save these children. The country of Romania panicked, and the world watched as more and more horrible stories emerged about the awful conditions of these orphans, the ones that would become a lost and abandoned generation. But, what was it really like? Besides the things the world saw and heard, what was the daily life and doings of the common Romanian orphan? What did they experience? How did they survive the terrible things that befell them? What was it really like to live in these awful conditions? In "Memories of Childhood," you'll get an exclusive inside story of a Romanian orphan named Nicolae Burcea. His memoirs from 1997 to 2001 recounts the vivid details of the day to day life of a typical Romanian orphan. You'll see the constant "relocations," the daily beatings, the friendships that were made and lost within a few minutes, the poor education and schooling, the concerns and worries about where to find food next, the abuse that never ended, the happy vacations that came a few times a year, the charity events, the long and never ending process to get adoption finalized, and the fight to remain dominant in a building crowded with other orphans struggling to survive and live. You'll see the hopes and devastations of a lonely child, and the thoughts and feelings of a boy who couldn't and wouldn't lose hope. Step into a world where everything normal is flipped upside down, and innocence as we know it simply does not exist. This book is truly unique in its vivid details and observations. Here is an eyewitness account of a boy- and others like him- who were simply abandoned and forgotten. Nicolae Burcea's story gives a voice to the thousands of orphaned children who had suffered the unimaginable fate of a child's worst nightmare. In an ironic and matter-of-fact style, Burcea lets you see, and even feel, the life of Romanian orphan.