Dad throws my brother to the floor, grabs him by the neck and slams his head into the carpet until my brother passes out. No one can do anything, except maybe Mom. And Mom does intervene. Dad never hits her, but his constant verbal abuse to her cuts to the bone.

This is how my life looks. I'm frightened and angry, so incredibly angry. All the other times of abuse go through my mind. I remember planning to kill him. I remember, feeling hopeless, trying to kill myself because living hurts so much. 

Everything is my fault. That's what I believe, what I always believe. I feel ugly and stupid, even while I excel in school. I'm over thirty before I realize the truth.

I am standing in the meeting room, studying the huge family tree posted there. All the names, dates of births, marriages, deaths, divorces and remarriages ignore me as I examine each one. 

But I'm not fixated on any of those invisible people. I see my birth, a scant seven months after my parents' wedding and suddenly I am flooded with relief, because I know, finally, that I'm not guilty for being born.

And I write stories of offense and redemption, of abuse and release, of salvation and victory.  I write about the power within forgiveness and the authority of love.

It's easier to face the past by placing it into fiction. I also remove it one step further, and put my stories into a form of science fiction-fantasy. My first series, the Lorekeeper of the Tapestry, is one such series. The books speak of redemption - Her Darkest Beauty, the power of love - Steps of the Dance, and of resolution - Her Dark Inheritance.

You can get them through Amazon.com. Expect enjoyment. These books are earning five stars each.