After the trauma of a savage attack, a young farm girl recovers physically, but her identity, faith, and relationships are shattered.
This is the true story of Leona Stucky’s childhood on a Kansas farm, surrounded by a loving family and the simple tenets of her Mennonite community. Violence enters her world in the guise of a young man who seems normal to everyone else but who Leona knows to be deranged in his obsession of her.
His unrelenting abuses take root, and Leona must deal with them utterly alone. Her pacifist father cannot avenge or protect her, nor can a callous justice system. Even God is impotent.
Leona is cast into a bewildering life of disgrace and poverty—with a baby, a violent husband, and battered faith. Through a series of page-turning events, she hacks through the bones of her naïveté to confront harsh realities and to probe the veracity of religious claims.
The Fog of Faith is a suspenseful and morally unflinching drama of shame and survival, as well as useable and unusual wisdom.
This volume includes thoughtful questions for readers and groups to further explore their own stories.
‘Despite tragedy, joy and laughter dance across these pages.’ William La Rue, Ph D, Founder of Compassionate Relating
‘Insightful and compelling, this riveting memoir offers a perspective about violence against women, shame, feminism, trauma, resilience, and relationships.’ Jo Anne Tucker, Ph D, Filmmaker, Producer, Healing Voices – Personal Stories
‘Naked with fear, aflame with rage . . . Glows with the insightful glitter of necessary art.’ Robert Mayer, Author of The Origin of Sorrow, The Dreams of Ada, Superfolks, and other books
Table des matières
Preface 7
Waking Nightmare 9
Part I – A True Believer
Chapter 1 – On Violence 13
Chapter 2 – Family 17
Chapter 3 – The Mennonite Well of Faith 21
Chapter 4 – Lambing Time 25
Chapter 5 – Farm Girls 31
Chapter 6 – Precarious Teen Years 35
Part II – Trapped In Terror
Chapter 7 – Long, Dark Night 47
Chapter 8 – Aftermath: War, God, and Prison 59
Chapter 9 – Bargains with God 69
Chapter 10 – Bruises 75
Chapter 11 – The Home Front 79
Chapter 12 – Questioning God 85
Part III – Endurance Without Faith
Chapter 13 – Shame 95
Chapter 14 – Rage 97
Chapter 15 – Telling Dad 103
Chapter 16 – Confession 107
Chapter 17 – The Marriage Prison 113
Chapter 18 – Randy’s Arrival 121
Chapter 19 – Escape Fantasy 125
Chapter 20 – Taming Failure 131
Chapter 21 – Boston: A Beginning 137
Chapter 22 – Flight 141
Part IV – Wresting Freedom
Chapter 23 – Public Assistance 147
Chapter 24 – College-Bound 157
Chapter 25 – My First Semester 159
Chapter 26 – The Uninvited 167
Chapter 27 – The Assistant DA 177
Chapter 28 – Believing the Biggest Lie 183
Chapter 29 – Police Again 191
Chapter 30 – A Crime? 195
Chapter 31 – Stopping Ron 203
Chapter 32 – Mr. Bellington’s Call 207
Chapter 33 – A Reason to Believe 211
Chapter 34 – Summer at Home 215
Chapter 35 – Dilemma 223
Chapter 36 – Bridgewater 227
Chapter 37 – Dorthy’s Trauma 231
Part V – Love Tendered with Faith
Chapter 38 – On Being a Woman 241
Chapter 39 – A Natural Approach 247
Chapter 40 – A Relationship Unfolds 253
Chapter 41 – To Know and Still Love 259
Chapter 42 – Marriage 265
Chapter 43 – A Feminist Divinity Wife 269
Chapter 44 – A Trip to Kansas 277
Chapter 45 – Hospital Days 281
Chapter 46 – The Ordeal 295
Chapter 47 – Death 307
Chapter 48 – Resurrection 311
Chapter 49 – Creases of the Past 315
Postscript 321
Questions for Reflection, Discovery, and Discussion 324
Appendix: Poems 330
Acknowledgments 333
About the Author 335
A propos de l’auteur
Mary and her husband Andrew own and operate Media Neighbours, a successful publishing services company. Chiefly working with authors, artists, and nonprofits, Media Neighbours provides writing and editing, design and production, and marketing and promotional assistance to all who want to create books. Knowledgeable in both print and digital prepress processes, they specialize in memoirs, self-help, art books, and other books with distinct niche marketing potential.Mary and Andrew care about their clients’ stories, and the books produced from these stories have garnered National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA), the Eric Hoffer Award, the Montaigne Medal, the Global EBook Awards, and the 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading Awards.
An award-winning writer herself, Mary is passionate about how words are used. As a veteran book editor with more than twenty-five years of experience, Mary knows industry standards and ensures that manuscripts are professional in every aspect. With calm, insightful, supportive guidance, she lends wings to an author’s prose and concepts. And her training in layout and design stretches back to the days when Adobe In Design was Page Maker.
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