"I found a pen; another person found a scrap of paper; a third person, the words. "Dead End," we wrote and left it on the side of the road for the next traveler to find and perhaps turn around in time." -A Prologue from For Sarah

Reviewer’s Note: Not all women damaged by abuse were themselves victims. My older sister was devastated by her ex-husband’s abuse of their children. I have wept over her subsequent choices, struggled to understand the alcoholism and mental breakdown that has stolen the woman she used to be from her family and her daughters. In the pages of For Sarah, I found an echo of painful memories, and came to a deeper understanding of my sister and her life. Understanding and education are the best signposts we can set for our children. Hope is all we can cling to, and, in the end, all we need.

For Sarah is for anyone who has known, loved, or striven to understand a woman damaged by child abuse. For Sarah opens a window to a dark world we all know exists, but talk about only in whispers, if at all. Read For Sarah for your daughters, for your wife, for every woman who passes through and enriches your life.

Six of the seven Welsh sisters survive a childhood dominated by a violently abusive step father. Rachel’s murder changes the course of all their lives, and the life of her friend, Bridgett.
Each chapter is another piece of the girls’ stories, interwoven and intertwined, leading the reader deeper into the shared history of the girls. Free of pathos, and unexpectedly innocent in language and events, For Sarah reveals the cycles and desperation common to abused women, and the new hope the remaining Welsh sisters snatch for themselves from the very heart of a tornado.

For Sarah is surprisingly real in voice. The characters come to life from the pages, drawing the reader deeper into the story, pulling us along as the sisters live out their quiet desperation. Why would three of the remaining Welsh sisters come up with a plan to scatter their stepfather’s ashes in the heart of a raging tornado? What revenge could be worth risking their lives in such a dramatic manner? And how can carrying out their plan give them back their lives?

I give For Sarah a Muse Review Mark of Highly Recommended, only because there is no higher mark of "You Must Read This Book". For Sarah is heart breaking, difficult, and compassionate. Read For Sarah, but be warned. You will come away changed.

For Sarah can be purchased from Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, or your favorite online bookstore.

Reviewer: Mary Schneider, MUSE BOOK REVIEWS

             HIGHLY RECOMMENDED