Andy’s mother Tata became a draftee in the war on drugs the first time she went to prison for attempting to sell crack cocaine to support her own addiction. It was the ’80s and Governor Rockefeller’s response to the nation climate was to stiffen prison sentences In New York State , so that possession of crack cocaine could carry a life sentence. Tata’s arrest made collateral damage of Andy’s childhood. One day, in the second grade, he returned home to the news that his mother would be gone for four years. A year later, Andy landed in the office of a board of education psychiatrist for chronic truancy. "School Phobic" was the Board of Education’s official diagnosis. Andy refused to attend or stay the full day in school if he did manage to get there. It was explained that this is common among children who have had trauma occur in the house during their absence. The doctor said "Children worry what will happen to their parents when they are not around and feel that they need to stay home to protect them." Eventually Andy’s school record got him a spot in a juvenile detention facility in Upstate New York, five hours away from his family in Brooklyn. The 18 months that Andy was in the facility and the three sporadic years that he spent in New York City Public Schools account for Andy’s entire academic career. Now, 20 years old, the resiliency that Andy has mustered after repeated tragedy is his education.

Tata met Angel in a drug rehab after she had been arrested for dealing to support her habit. She had a long record of drug related charges, so the two-year treatment program came with a high alternative sentence of 5-10 years if she failed to complete it. Tata’s joy at having found true love at last had similar conditions. When Angel’s terminal diagnosis got him an early release from the program, Tata decided to trade years of her life for whatever time remained with Angel.