Broken Pieces

by Danny Woodall

Angie Larson is raised by seemingly faithful Christian parents. But after her father begins abusing her, Angie asks her mother to divorce him. When her mom refuses, Angie is forced to suppress her memories and go on with her life.

During high school she dates a young man from church. They marry and are happy, but it doesn’t take long for her to realize she can’t escape her dad. Holidays, birthdays, and surprise visits from her parents only give her dad a chance to continue his abuse.

She falls deeper into depression and, after her kids are grown, she decides she will commit suicide on her next birthday if her life does not get better. A few months before the fateful day, Angie decides she must confront her parents about the terrible deeds they have kept secret and forced her to bear.

Broken Pieces is an emotional rollercoaster that delves deep into God’s redemption to provide help and hope for those who suffer.

Distributor: Ingram Publisher Services
Pub Date : 10/01/2013
Price : $14.95 USD / $15.95 CAD
ISBN: 9781938467523
Trim :  6×9
Format : Trade Paper
Pages : 220
BISAC Code   Category:
FIC042000   Fiction/Christian/General
FIC045000   Fiction/Family Life

AUTHOR BIO
Danny Woodall has written for LifeWay’s Bible Express and Essential Connections, has a monthly column in the Christian Online Magazine, and has contributed to several anthologies. He is also working on an anthology called, “Thank You For Your Hero” along with author, Melanie Stiles. Woodall has a degree in education from Lamar University. He has worked with children for over thirty years and has three children with his wife Arlene. This is his first novel.

EXCERPT

Prologue

April 22, 2006

Angie squinted at the mid-morning sunlight filtering through the beige bedroom curtains. She tugged on the flowered bedspread. The sweat-drenched sheets felt cold. She glanced at the clock on the dresser; it read 10:28. To her, sleep was better than life. She sighed and drifted back into a hazy sleep.

Vague images started to appear in her mind’s eye, she was a seven-year old in bed instead of a grown woman. Her dad slithered into the room. She felt her stomach muscles tighten. His hand slid under the covers; the clammy hand pawed her. Spewed curses and raspy threats sent chills down her spine.

When Angie opened her eyes, the images did not disappear. Chills shot through her body. The images were real, buried memories of her childhood now oozing for the first time to the surface of her fragile brain.

Frantically, she phoned her husband Joe and begged him to come home. The recollections had finally shone light on the darkness of her childhood.

As she waited for Joe by the living room window, various emotions engulfed her. First, there was relief that she now knew why she hated her dad. Then there was blind rage because of the bare-faced hypocrisy of her parents, followed by bitterness. Now she was dealing with a sinking feeling of what might have been.

Soon the red Toyota pulled into the driveway.

When Joe saw his wife, he knew something was wrong. He had seen the hopeless blood-shot eyes, the chattering teeth and the sweat-soaked hair before, but the deep haunted look in her eyes he had never seen.

They sat on the couch together, and she started to talk, in choppy phrases at first. Then short sentences, followed by repetition, then a torrent of words. She began to shake, and Joe wrapped his arms around her. In the next three hours, he learned more about his wife than he had in the past thirty years.

During the next few months, more pieces of the puzzle would fall into place.