After their mother’s death, the Mowery children are split up; the four youngest stay in foster care. The oldest daughter is already married, and the only son accepts housing with a "family friend." The children stay strong, remembering their mother’s unending love for them, but their prolonged abuse leads to adult consequences, like health and mental illnesses, drug and alcohol addictions, and financial and personal problems. Rozetta starts a search of court documents, transcripts, letters, and other legal documents and unravels the lies surrounding her mother’s death. In the vein of Shakespeare’s quote, "What is past is prologue," Rozetta unearths generations of abuse, neglect, incest, illness, and murders. Not only had her father killed her mother, but her grandmother was suspected of multiple murders.

Tragedy in Tin Can Holler depicts the insidious nature of abuse as it traps innocent children into further victimization or becoming abusers themselves. The book is divided into four sections: The Beginnings, Tin Can Holler, The Tragedy, and What Happened to the Other Children. Rozetta includes copies of the legal documents surrounding her mother’s death and her family’s life. The horrific events spill directly in a chronological order, in the way a friend relays facts to another friend, rather than cushioned in a storyline. Despite the awkward point of view, Tragedy is a powerful story for abuse survivors. Rozetta’s strengths and joys fill a life that undoubtedly would make Eliza Mowery very proud.