"Maude Julien's parents were fanatics who believed it was their sacred duty to turn her into the ultimate survivor--raising her in isolation and subjecting her to endless drills designed to "eliminate weakness." Maude learned to hold an electric fence for minutes without flinching, and to sit perfectly still in a rat-infested cellar all night long (her mother sewed bells onto her clothes that would give her away if she moved). She endured a life without...

The Dollanganger family attempt to put their sordid past behind them. But, as they soon discover, certain secrets can't be left behind. When Cathy finds herself in an abusive relationship, Christopher and Cathy are forced to face their forbidden feelings. And as tragedy strikes again, Cathy returns to Foxworth Hall to confront her grandmother and seek revenge on her mother. Christopher runs to Cathy's side, and the two are determined to start over...

Alex Lake's day job is all about helping people, especially children. She cares about them passionately and does everything in her power to rescue them from those who mean them harm. When the case of three-years-old Ottilie Wade comes to her attention, Alex finds herself completely unable to detach from the child the way she should... --Publisher

Seventeen year old Kristin Masterwood is thrilled when her father's construction company is hired to inspect the Foxworth property for a prospective buyer. The once grand Southern mansion still sparks legends and half truths about the four innocent Dollanganger children, even all these decades later. Foxworth holds a special fascination for Kristin, who was too young when her mother died to learn much about her distant blood tie to the notorious family....

Born into a large working-class family in upstate New York, Christina Meredith endured years of abuse before entering the foster care system as a teenager. With nowhere to turn after she graduated from high school, Christina lived in her car for almost a year, working three jobs to survive. As she prayed in her car every day, Christina had no idea that in just a few years, she would be crowned Ms. California. She had no idea that her suffering would...

A novel in verse follows the experiences of fourteen-year-old Lilly, as an innocent flirtation turns into sexual abuse by a friend of her parents and she is tormented by her abuser's threat to ruin her family and her own desperate need for help.

Volunteering with a support group for children affected by domestic violence, forensic psychologist Claire Britten, aided by partner Nick Markwood, investigates a suspicious death at a wildlife sanctuary, only to be confronted by an attack that is too close to home.

During a hunting trip, cattle rancher Aiden Delacorte is suddenly attuned to the animals around him, feeling their pain and fear as if it were his own. This newfound sensitivity has its price: he can no longer sleepwalk through life, holding everyone at arm's length. Aiden falls in love with Gwen, a single mother whose young son Milo is sullen and broken from his experiences with an abusive father, and has turned to acting out in violent and rebellious...

Jackson's mother, Kayla, can no longer cope. Having tragically lost her husband and son, Kayla is crippled with grief and unable to manage Jackson's challenging behaviour. Aggressive, confrontational, and often running away, Jackson's mother puts him into foster care. He remains volatile. Cathy, his carer, encourages Jackson to talk about what has happened but he won't engage. His actions continue to test and worry everyone. Adrian, Cathy's son, fears...

In this book is a story of triumph and a fierce determination to give back. The author was a runner. By twelve, she had run away from home, dropped out of school, and fled blindly into the arms of a brutal pimp, who made her walk the hard streets of central California. But even when she escaped him, she could not outrun the crushing inner pain of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. With little to hope for, she expected to end up in prison, or worse....