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The Only Girl on the Floor
By the time she became a mother, Chantel had already spent years perfecting the art of keeping it together. The eldest sister and tough city girl convinced everyone, including herself, that if she tried hard enough, things would be okay. The Only Girl on the Floor is a memoir that moves between the cigarettes and Strawberry Shortcake of Chantel’s sometimes-feral Gen X childhood and the carefully constructed facade of adult life she built on top of it. When motherhood forces Chantel to confront the past she never fully understood, what she finds is a pattern of adults who failed to protect her. The chaos and dysfunction of her home life, the trauma she learned to suppress, and the eating disorder she developed at age eleven converge with force and emotional honesty. Told with sharp wit and hard-won clarity, The Only Girl on the Floor is the story of what it takes to stop pretending everything is fine, walk through the door to treatment, and begin imagining a life shaped by something other than survival. It is a vital read for audiences of contemporary women’s memoirs, trauma recovery stories, and uplifting narratives of personal transformation.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 27, 2026
About the author
Chantel Ferraro
1 book1 followerChantel Ferraro is a storyteller, creative entrepreneur, and former Chicagoan who now lives in Texas with her husband, Mike, and their bulldog, Dexter. Her diverse professional background—spanning years as a makeup artist, photographer, preschool teacher, and handmade Etsy shop owner—reflects a lifelong commitment to meaningful connection and finding stories and beauty in the everyday.
In her debut memoir, The Only Girl on the Floor, Chantel captures her sometimes-feral childhood with colorful wit and deep emotional honesty as she explores how coping with family dysfunction and long-held trauma affected her identity and mental health well into adulthood. Her stories resonate with women of all ages, but Gen-Xers and older Millennials will see themselves on every page.
Chantel is fiercely proud of her three adult children, and is embracing the new role of unapologetically obsessed grandmother (Tilly). As an online content creator, Chantel balances the heavier parts of memory-keeping with the texture of 80s nostalgia, and a healthy dose of humor—often to the mild embarrassment of her kids. You can follow her journey, find her latest projects, and join the conversation online @tillysstories
In her debut memoir, The Only Girl on the Floor, Chantel captures her sometimes-feral childhood with colorful wit and deep emotional honesty as she explores how coping with family dysfunction and long-held trauma affected her identity and mental health well into adulthood. Her stories resonate with women of all ages, but Gen-Xers and older Millennials will see themselves on every page.
Chantel is fiercely proud of her three adult children, and is embracing the new role of unapologetically obsessed grandmother (Tilly). As an online content creator, Chantel balances the heavier parts of memory-keeping with the texture of 80s nostalgia, and a healthy dose of humor—often to the mild embarrassment of her kids. You can follow her journey, find her latest projects, and join the conversation online @tillysstories
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 25, 2026
A Compelling and Courageous Memoir
As a proud Gen Xer, I love looking back at the music, movies, and pop culture we grew up with. But as Chantel Ferraro reminds us in The Only Girl on the Floor, not everything about growing up in the '70s and '80s was wonderful.
Chantel shares her story with incredible honesty, taking readers through a childhood marked by bullying, abuse, difficult family relationships, and struggles with self-worth. Some parts are heartbreaking, but there are also moments of humor, nostalgia, friendship, and hope.
What really struck me was how much I could relate to certain parts of her story. Our experiences were different, but we both dealt with difficult situations at home and bullying at Catholic school. Her story brought back some memories of my own.
I also enjoyed Chantel's writing style. She has a natural, conversational voice that makes you feel like she's sitting across from you telling her story. The chapters are relatively short, and the book flows well, even when the subject matter gets heavy.
One of the things I appreciated most was that Chantel doesn't pretend to have everything figured out. Healing isn't a straight line, and our past experiences can continue to affect us long into adulthood. But they don't have to define who we become.
The Only Girl on the Floor is an honest, moving, and ultimately hopeful memoir about survival, self-discovery, and finding your own voice. I highly recommend it!
As a proud Gen Xer, I love looking back at the music, movies, and pop culture we grew up with. But as Chantel Ferraro reminds us in The Only Girl on the Floor, not everything about growing up in the '70s and '80s was wonderful.
Chantel shares her story with incredible honesty, taking readers through a childhood marked by bullying, abuse, difficult family relationships, and struggles with self-worth. Some parts are heartbreaking, but there are also moments of humor, nostalgia, friendship, and hope.
What really struck me was how much I could relate to certain parts of her story. Our experiences were different, but we both dealt with difficult situations at home and bullying at Catholic school. Her story brought back some memories of my own.
I also enjoyed Chantel's writing style. She has a natural, conversational voice that makes you feel like she's sitting across from you telling her story. The chapters are relatively short, and the book flows well, even when the subject matter gets heavy.
One of the things I appreciated most was that Chantel doesn't pretend to have everything figured out. Healing isn't a straight line, and our past experiences can continue to affect us long into adulthood. But they don't have to define who we become.
The Only Girl on the Floor is an honest, moving, and ultimately hopeful memoir about survival, self-discovery, and finding your own voice. I highly recommend it!
August 30, 2026
Raw emotional brutal honesty
I read the book in one sitting. It was a dsyfunctional trainwreck I couldnt turn away from. With brutal honesty I was taken on a journey with the author and let me tell you....it was a all over the place. I didnt know what would happen next. This is a story many genX ers can relate too and understand. There is alot of family enmeshment and codependency that lingers long, long after leaving home, along with childhood entanglements and how it invades, creeping into relationships, and the spaces of our lives, including eating disorders, body dsymorphia, and other mental health issues. I loved the raw honesty and the wrapping up of "life" in the final chapters.
I read the book in one sitting. It was a dsyfunctional trainwreck I couldnt turn away from. With brutal honesty I was taken on a journey with the author and let me tell you....it was a all over the place. I didnt know what would happen next. This is a story many genX ers can relate too and understand. There is alot of family enmeshment and codependency that lingers long, long after leaving home, along with childhood entanglements and how it invades, creeping into relationships, and the spaces of our lives, including eating disorders, body dsymorphia, and other mental health issues. I loved the raw honesty and the wrapping up of "life" in the final chapters.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews