This is the story of a young girl's heartbreak, firstly shattered by those around her calling her 'night-ape' and 'problem child', and then in the cruellest of ways seeing her trust smashed upon the rocks of life when she was raped by the very man/boy she gave her most treasured possession... her heart.
The mould was set; Cheryl's parents often challenged her identity within the family because they said she made their lives miserable and intolerable. Raised in a well respected family in the town of Umtali, Rhodesia, her parents slept away their embarrassment and disgust at her being raped, whilst Cheryl hugged her bruised body and soul, and the shame close to her.
The broken and spiritually ravaged Cheryl survived the Rhodesian War, and the loss of people she loved. As a victim, she attracted abusers, and married a cruel, controlling man. As a refugee in South Africa, unwelcome and unexpectedly pregnant her life spiralled into despair and emotional isolation.
After years of abuse, Cheryl divorced her alcoholic husband and began a new life with her two children. Five years later, he returned, sober and kind, she remarried him, and they relocated to England. He betrayed her again with alcohol, and Cheryl gave up. She reverted to the role of victim again, and drank her despair and pain away; she shunned reality and life, and crossed the threshold into oblivion.
In her own words, Cheryl tells how she went to hell in a nightmare relationship, and fought back to become a successful author.