Donald and Myra Furr's marriage began to fail when White was five years old. White's mother left Tupelo and took her to Memphis; her separation from her husband and his subsequent suicide drove White, her brother, and her mother into poverty. White's mother became an alcoholic. While she worked, her daughter was looked after by caregivers. White has said that she was sexually and physically abused between the ages of six and thirteen by different people on different occasions. She has said that during that time, she suffered from bulimia.