Apology

The writer, Nina Valdés, originally used this alias to present the book. It is a dark autobiographical story that graphically depicts the life of a young woman raised in a single-parent, extremely religious environment, against which she rebels at an early age. She illustrates her and her siblings' dysfunctional relationship with an abusive mother who blames their birth for the loss of her career as a successful entertainer. It vividly examines the secret world of ongoing sexual abuse by family members and the inability of adult protectors to face the situation and act in defence of the children. Inevitably, this leads to extreme psychological damage. It is a stark revelation of the author's own personal vulnerabilities, which feed into a series of questionable relationships with men she perceives as saviours; until her life-changing encounter with a married man whom she believes to be her soul mate. When this ends tragically, she marries a young military man whom she feels will offer security and protection to her and her two children. In reality, what she does is open the door and expose them to a sociopathic predator.