Illinois Authors

Poignantly exploring the choices that contemporary women must face and the consequences of domestic abuse, this family saga opens as Belinda Pecan Morrow begins to suspect that getting married before the conclusion of her senior year in high school--and after her father's sudden death--was a huge mistake. With her baby girl, she packs up her few belongings and attempts to leave her husband, Ricky, the up-and-coming boxing sensation from Mississippi. But when Ricky catches up to her, she learns that he has no qualms about using his fists outside of the ring. As years rolls by, Pecan does her best to protect herself and her four daughters physically and emotionally from the tornado that is Ricky, but the marriage comes to a dramatic end when his violent focus turns to the girls. She quickly finds out that leaving Ricky is only the beginning; he doesn't need to live under the same roof to wreak havoc in her life.