Summer of Sharona

It is the summer of 1979 and fifteen year old Ashley hates her life. She feels hopeless, alone and fears the next time the police will be called to her house and she especially fears the reason why. Ashley has never revealed the deepest and darkest secrets of her life, yet one person knows about the violence she endures and the tears she sheds at night.

Fifteen year old Ashley believes life should come with one rule: No one should ever crush a ladybug. Well, make that two rules, she also believes people who meet in the nut house should not be allowed to marry. If only her mother had followed that rule, Ashley’s life wouldn’t be such a mess. It’s the summer of 1979, the song My Sharona is skyrocketing to the top of the charts, disco is fading, and on a fateful evening on Chicago’s south side, thousands of disco records are physically destroyed.

Ashley’s life goes from bad to worse on another warm Chicago evening. Exactly one week after experiencing Disco Destruction Night at the ballpark, Ashley enters Grant Park and leaves it twenty minutes later, a changed girl forever. After this traumatic event, finding a love is the last thing on Ashley’s summer “to do” list. The funny thing about love is that it’s most successful when it comes out of nowhere and simply happens.