Runaway Girl

An astonishing story of triumph and a fierce determination to give back

Carissa Phelps was a runner. By twelve, she had run away from home, dropped out of shcool, and fled blindly into the arms of a brutal pimp, who made her walk the hard streets of central California. But even when she escaped him, she could not outrun the crushing inner pain of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. With little to hope for, she expected to end up in prison, or worse.

Her life was transformed through the unexpected kindness of a teacher and a counselor. Miraculously, by the time Carissa turned thirty, she had accomplished the the unimaginable, graduation from UCLA with both a law degree and an MBA. she had left the streets behind, yet her path would eventually draw her back, this time working to help homeless and at-risk youth find their own paths to a better life.