Publisher's Synopsis
Anne's story need never be documented. If existing law had protected Anne, and Ruby's children, Ruby's Law would never have been written. Jo and Lennie begin a 20 year trek to find and rescue Anne from her abusive husband. They rescue hundreds of other women, children, and the occasional man. Often, the survivors have known no other life. They have been conditioned to believe abuse is normal. The search for Anne continues. Their hope begins to fade. Bodies burn out. More stations open. More people try to escape. Stuck in the legal limbo land, where they are safe from abusers, while surrounded by other survivors, with little hope of full recovery. Few make it out to live beyond the bars that Ruby's Law has given to protect them. It simply isn't safe. Abusers wait out there. Often barely beyond the fence. Can the New Underground Railroad Project stay on track to train abuse survivors to live abuse-free on their own? Or will they remain behind the legal bars that protect them from their abusers? Other notes: Bending the Bars is a journey though recognition of abusers, and survivors in the United States. It recognizes how the laws protect the abusers at the expense of the abused. It also conveys reasons why so many stay when they are abused. They often feel there is no escape. Often, there isn't. If they have children, they have to leave without them, potentially condemning their children to worse than if they stay. Legally. It shouldn't be that way. Ruby's Law is a weak start to grant safety to survivors, and a place to bend the bars of abuse, without breaking the survivors. Author's Note: Book Title: Bending the Bars Genre: Abuse Survival Age: Adult Rating: PG 16 Profanity: None Romance: In passing. Sex: Mentioned. Violence: Some. Car chases, shootings, survivors of abuse POV Characters: Jo Forester, Lennie Darendale Length: Arial size 12 - 340 pages Arial size 16 - 408 pages
