When Kathy is six years old, her father rapes and abuses her for the first time. Many thoughts and emotions run through Kathy's head as her father brutalizes her well into her teen years. Yet Kathy is paralyzed with fear and never speaks of the mistreatment. In Passages of Betrayal, her thoughts are laid onto the pages as Kathy wishes she could have spoken them over fifty years ago: "At twelve years old, I am aware of an emptiness inside of me, of the loneliness that surrounds me, of the confusion that engulfs me." Kathy's only hope of surviving the hell she lives in is to retreat into a fantasy world where she dreams of a loving mother who will protect her from harm. Because Kathy's mother chooses to do nothing about the obvious abuse, Kathy thinks of herself as an orphan inside of what others believe to be a functional home. Kathy also grows up feeling isolated from the rest of the world, but not from God. He never leaves her. Because of Kathy's faith, she ultimately realizes God is the one who brings her peace. God helps her move past the pain-God helps her survive the inconceivable.
