Most sex offenders appear to be normal, friendly, and may even be attractive. It is a myth to think that they are weird-looking people. - Margaret O. Hyde & Elizabeth Forsyth, MD
From the day Lomita was born, it was just her, her mother, and the men she brought home. Some stayed with them for extended periods of time. Others were nightly guests, who left as soon as their business was done and their pants were up. Often, she’d pick up and leave. She’d stay away for days at a time, and these were the happiest days of her life, because, then, her grandma would take her in.
Her grandma loved her, but her mother never talked to her; she only yelled and cursed, or slapped and kicked her to the ground. Because of her, she knew that words like whore, slut, and cunt meant ugly things her mother called her when she was angry or drunk.
When her mother came back from her two- or three-day, sometimes weeklong, escapades, she never addressed her. She never asked how she had been, was she doing okay, did she go to school, or had she gotten beat up again by the bully-girl who lived in apartment 3E.
When she was old enough, some of her mother’s men friends began to give her more notice than they should, and when her mother became aware of this fact, she yelled at her:
“Get lost and stay lost!” Lomita ran out of their one-bedroom apartment and spent the day roaming the courtyard of the housing project where they lived.
Men came. Men went, and the years passed. And then came that dark and stormy night where she was raped by one of her mother’s men friends. She was eleven years old. His name was Maurice. It happened gradually, over a period of time. * * * MY BOOKSHELF: BROKEN, But Not Shattered is more therapeutic rather than a publishing endeavor. As it grew into something more, I became convinced that I wanted to share it with others.
BROKEN, a biographical debut novel set first in Haiti and unfolded in New York, was published in July 2005 by Infinity Publishing. Contrary to the traditional beliefs, which is “Don’t put your business in the street,” BROKEN brings awareness on the plight of thousands of undocumented women living in abusive situations and trapped into fearful silence because of their illegal status. BROKEN’s goal is to urge them to get out and seek help, where such help is readily available.
STRONGER, the long-awaited conclusion of BROKEN, was published in December 2006. This novel is about redemption and strength. It is also about closure.
My third work, Perfect Neighbor, Nice Guy: Mr. Suburban, is a fiction book published in March 2008 by Infinity Publishing. It reflects the lives of the many children and adolescent girls who fall prey to the dark world of sexual exploitation.
These books can be purchased at buybooksontheweb.com, barnesandnoble.com, and at amazon.com.
One Afternoon in 1987 (excerpt from BROKEN) Vol-1, Issue 1 of DWA FANM’s Newsletter, 2003.
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