The reader will be drawn irresistably into the world of the author who presents a catalogue of abuse and cruelty suffered by herself as an innocent child, first at the hands of her alcoholic father, then by nuns, and later by a heartless husband who raped and beat her. This is compulsive reading. The book shows how the shadow of a father's cruelty can be cast over the whole life of a child--a child who, in this instance, never failed to turn the other cheek, or return love for cruelty and abuse, who manifested, in the end, the overriding power and strength of Christ who advocated love above all things. The book is a protest against domestic violence and institutionalised cruelty, and will hopefully stand as a beacon and warning against the violations suffered by so many Emelias whose heartfelt cries go unheard behind the closed or locked doors of our apparently respectable western civilization.