--- product_id: 107390202 title: "Freckled: A Memoir of Growing up Wild in Hawaii (Memoir Series Book 1)" price: "$7.67" currency: USD in_stock: false reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/107390202-freckled-a-memoir-of-growing-up-wild-in-hawaii-memoir store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # Freckled: A Memoir of Growing up Wild in Hawaii (Memoir Series Book 1) **Price:** $7.67 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Freckled: A Memoir of Growing up Wild in Hawaii (Memoir Series Book 1) - **How much does it cost?** $7.67 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/107390202-freckled-a-memoir-of-growing-up-wild-in-hawaii-memoir) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description For fans of The Glass Castle and Educated, comes mystery author Toby Neal’s personal story of surviving a wild childhood in paradise. We never call it homeless. We're just "camping" in the jungle on Kauai... We live in a place everyone calls paradise. Sure, Kauai’s beautiful, with empty beaches, drip-castle mountains, and perfect surf...but we’ve been "camping" for six months, eating boiled chicken feed for breakfast, and wearing camouflage clothes so no one sees us trespassing in our jungle hideout. The cockroaches leave rainbow colors all over everything from eating the crayons we left outside the tent, and now a tractor is coming to scrape our camp into the river. Standing in front of the tent in my nightgown, clinging to my sister as we face the tractor, I know my own truth: I just want to be normal. But Mom and Pop are addicted. Addicted to Kauai’s beauty, to drugs, to surfing, to living a life according to their own rules out from under their high-achieving parents’ judgmental eyes. I’m just their red-headed, mouthy, oldest kid. What I want doesn’t matter. But I’m smart. I will make a different life for myself someday if I keep up my grades no matter what happens. No matter how often we run out of food. No matter how many times I change schools...or don’t go to school at all. No matter how many bullies beat me up for the color of my skin. I might be growing up wild in Hawaii, but I have dreams I’m going to reach, no matter how crazy things get. “An affecting and riveting chronicle of a singular childhood that evokes the contradictions of hippie utopian ideals in an unspoiled Hawaiian landscape long since lost.” ~Kirkus Reviews Review: Especially great as an audiobook! - I just loved this book so much - I'm so grateful to the author for having taken the time to organize, articulate, and share the story of her youth. It just has so much truth in it; it's raw and deep, exciting and honest. I also absolutely love the audiobook reader's voicing of the memoir and was delighted to learn that she too grew up in Hawaii. I've never had any overwhelming wish to go to Hawaii, at least no more so than many other places in the world, but I did very much enjoy learning a bit about the culture through the lens of the author's childhood and teen years. It may seem strange at first glance, but this memoir often reminded me of the Little House on the Prairie books -- every chapter is another completely unexpected family or private adventure -- though some of the "adventures" are rather more gut-wrenching than anything Laura Ingalls Wilder shared with her readers. It also reminded me of the also wonderful How to Say Babylon, perhaps for more obvious reasons. Review: ‘Paradise’ m: revisited and remembered. - An extremely satisfying story of life in ‘Paradise’ thru the eyes of a sensitive and resilient child, as she grows to maturity thru her own strength. Though I grew up in the Maryland suburbs near Washington DC, I ran towards Hawaii in 1970 at 20 , on my own trip of continuing self- discovery. I too lived in the dichotomy of the fantastic positives of the islands where my mom was born in 1921, and the inevitable dark moments that are the scars of every life story, even in Paradise. My love for my Hawaii home became an addiction I too have never given up. I found the memories of Toby beautifully expressed, as she manages the balance of exposing her life in all its bare honesty, from exhilarating to devastating across the childhood and adolescent continuum. It touched me deeply as I pondered the many ways my life and Toby’s paralleled emotionally. I believe there is an experience of life thru the soul of an injured child, to a matured and wise adult, that can speak truth to almost anyone. I highly recommend spending time with FRECKLED. Many thanks for this, Toby. Aloha, Nora ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #54,122 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #2 in Pacific Islanders Biographies #18 in Biographies & Memoirs (Kindle Store) #32 in Biographies & Memoirs of Authors | ## Images ![Freckled: A Memoir of Growing up Wild in Hawaii (Memoir Series Book 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91rXRok89YL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Especially great as an audiobook! *by B***E on January 6, 2026* I just loved this book so much - I'm so grateful to the author for having taken the time to organize, articulate, and share the story of her youth. It just has so much truth in it; it's raw and deep, exciting and honest. I also absolutely love the audiobook reader's voicing of the memoir and was delighted to learn that she too grew up in Hawaii. I've never had any overwhelming wish to go to Hawaii, at least no more so than many other places in the world, but I did very much enjoy learning a bit about the culture through the lens of the author's childhood and teen years. It may seem strange at first glance, but this memoir often reminded me of the Little House on the Prairie books -- every chapter is another completely unexpected family or private adventure -- though some of the "adventures" are rather more gut-wrenching than anything Laura Ingalls Wilder shared with her readers. It also reminded me of the also wonderful How to Say Babylon, perhaps for more obvious reasons. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Paradise’ m: revisited and remembered. *by N***S on June 9, 2025* An extremely satisfying story of life in ‘Paradise’ thru the eyes of a sensitive and resilient child, as she grows to maturity thru her own strength. Though I grew up in the Maryland suburbs near Washington DC, I ran towards Hawaii in 1970 at 20 , on my own trip of continuing self- discovery. I too lived in the dichotomy of the fantastic positives of the islands where my mom was born in 1921, and the inevitable dark moments that are the scars of every life story, even in Paradise. My love for my Hawaii home became an addiction I too have never given up. I found the memories of Toby beautifully expressed, as she manages the balance of exposing her life in all its bare honesty, from exhilarating to devastating across the childhood and adolescent continuum. It touched me deeply as I pondered the many ways my life and Toby’s paralleled emotionally. I believe there is an experience of life thru the soul of an injured child, to a matured and wise adult, that can speak truth to almost anyone. I highly recommend spending time with FRECKLED. Many thanks for this, Toby. Aloha, Nora ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ As tragic as it is inspirational *by W***S on June 16, 2019* Hawaii: this story is as tragic as it is inspirational, and true to the cliche that you can't judge a book by the cover. The book is honest and full of detail and vivid memories of so many things that happened during the childhood of the author. In each scenario, she doesn't present herself as perfect, nor does she assert that all the other people in her life had all the problems. She presents herself as flawed alongside the dysfunction she observed. She had her own struggles, and she also had her own perseverance. Books became her escape, "a magic carpet of adventure ready to take me away any time I open those big stiff covers with their delightful musty library smell." I like that. I think a lot of readers will connect with that sentiment. Without a lot of support, she became determined to succeed and fulfill her potential in spite of repeated and consistent setbacks and frustrations. She saw herself as disadvantaged, but she didn't see herself as a helpless victim. She kept pursuing her dreams. But my favorite thing about this book is the tone of the narrator. Spanning the first 18 years of her life, the author speaks appropriately from the point of view of the age she was in each chapter of her story... trying to understand things she couldn't comprehend... expressing feelings that she was uncertain were the correct way to feel... and you can see her maturing and having to grow up long before she should have. The ability to transform the voice and style of the writing from beginning to end is remarkable, and I don't recall seeing that in a memoir before. That was pretty cool to read. I also appreciate what she shares in the acknowledgements at the end of the book and how some publishers turned her story down because it was "too small" and "too niche." It's not. It makes the reader think about their own childhood from their younger perspective and the things they didn't notice or think about at the time and how those things shaped the person they became. As a parent, it also makes me think about how my own child may look at things he may not understand. Growing up wild in Hawaii sounds adventurous. And it was. But not all adventures are fun. I've never been to Hawaii, but I've always wanted to go there. It looks exotic. It seems like paradise. But to the author of this book, it wasn't a glorified place to be desired. It was simply home. And life there didn't live up to the billing. It came with problems. Just like anywhere. This book is a good reminder that the only life we can live is our own. We each have our struggles, and we each have the opportunity to decide to make the best of it. Kudos to author T.W. Neal for choosing to make the best of it and congratulations to her for the successes she has enjoyed in pursuing her goals and dreams. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/107390202-freckled-a-memoir-of-growing-up-wild-in-hawaii-memoir](https://www.desertcart.us/products/107390202-freckled-a-memoir-of-growing-up-wild-in-hawaii-memoir) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-07-23*