Yes, this was the case. Her parents were a bit unstable and they divorce right as she graduated high school. She had some relocations.
She also did not go to a traditional 4 year college or a 2 year community college. She went to an acting conservancy. For someone with less than a bachelor's degree, she writes well. She is good at polishing the turd of her life.
I give her credit for not going to college. Too many women drink the higher education Kool-Aid. The typical 35-40 year old aging Millennial woman who is most similar to her has a bachelor's or advanced degree.
She did pick a silly path with an acting conservancy. Without a bachelor's degree, she had some viable options. Common paths that she could have taken for decent jobs include dental hygienist, paralegal, nurse/medical assistant, or medical billing. If she had taken any of those paths, she would have been married with children by 30. Her big risk in those paths would have been marrying the wrong person and becoming a single mom somewhere in her 30s.
Imitating Rachel on "Friends" and the "Sex and the City" women were bigger priorities for her than marriage and possibly a good husband and family life.