Although a heart wrenching story, it is a true testament to what it means to be resilient. The strength and patience the protagonist - Alethea exudes was unwavering and remarkable. It took more patience than Job, to endure a life filled with drudgery and an insurmountable amount of abuse. Alethea was very fortunate to have friends and family that would support her. I became emotionally invested, murdering the deuteragonist (Leo), envisioning a painful death for him a million times and more. God is always watching, truly a redemption story. The author 'hook meh' with very descriptive nostalgic prose as she skillfully crafted the fragility of dysfunctional family dynamics, domestic violence, friendships, infidelity, secrets, incest, religion and crime in the beautiful island of Trinidad. Lisa left her thumbprint, keeping authenticity in voice, adding texture to the story with cultural gesticulation. Melded into the story were a few historical facts about the American Naval base that was located in Northwestern Trinidad near Carenage, the essence of Christmas and Carnival in Trinidad.This story is fictional but the life altering traumatic experiences that many succumb to are not. Domestic violence / child abuse is a pandemic in its own right. If you are aware, sincerely concerned or suspect that someone is being harmed, please don't be an enabler for the sake of minding your own business. All it takes is an anonymous phone call to alert the appropriate authorities. Show some compassion and kindness. This piece at the end of the acknowledgements spoke volumes. Lisa quoted Picasso and penned a very profound statement.Picasso wrote, 'We all know that Art is not truth., Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand.'"But this lie shows some truths I was given to understand: brutality is an inescapable inheritance of humanity, but so is love. As terribly as we can be hurt, so deeply can we be healed. And we cannot stand alone."