Kathleen Stauffer

Do Not Be Deceived Kathleen Stauffer

Cassandra is only five years old when her mother and sister disappear into the night, leaving her alone with an abusive father. She awaits for their return as days turn into weeks, then months, then years. Driven by loneliness and wanting answers, Cassandra grabs at every lifeline trying to make sense of her life on the edge of a little town where everyone seems to know more about her family than she does. Ignoring her father's advice to keep a low profile and his words, "Better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt," Cassandra visits the only two buildings in her rural neighborhood. The tumbledown shack across the road and a little country church beyond the brambles and bushes start to provide clues. Cassandra's mistakes and do-overs and inner growth and development form the backbone of Do Not Be Deceived. Clinging fiercely to the God she barely knows, she weathers the storms of adolescence and struggles to sort out the good influences from the bad. As she enters adulthood, she begins to realize that her shame because of abandonment and abuse can be turned into something good for God.