Global Book Awards Bronze winner Fiction 2021

What happens when the abused partner murders the abuser and is faced with a manslaughter.

Powerful and haunting, this story of an abuse survivor who thinks she has found the perfect man only to discover the cycle of abuse has started all over again for her.

Millie Goodheart, the Chief Librarian in Emeryville, California, survived a child’s nightmare; savage abuse at the hands of her father, a brutal, violent drunk. She swears never again, and chooses for her life mate Henry, a gentle giant who promises Millie a loving, safe, and secure life. But when Henry changes from savior to abuser, Millie is faced again with the nightmare of living with an abuser.

No person escapes the residual effects of such violence and Millie eventually reaches the fateful and climactic decision to put an end to the abuse—and an end to Henry’s life.

It isn’t clear whether Millie acted in self-defense, and the DA decides to charge her with voluntary manslaughter. Now Millie faces a whole new battle. Does she have the courage to win this fight and finally enjoy the freedom she so desperately wants?