Mary Lanier

A Flickering Light Mary Lanier

Life has tried to be removed from Mary many times, yet she never gave up on living. This book talks about the early days, before the car wreck. The car wreck left her in a paraplegic state at 16 years old and 52 years later, she writes about her survival... As a small child, I had many happy times in my life, but few knew of the horrors I encountered at an early age. By the age of five I had been sexually assaulted, by age nine, sexual battery, at age twelve was a victim of incest from an uncle, my mother's baby brother; at age sixteen, a victim more than once date rape. I remember as a young child of asking myself what had I done to deserve this kind of treatment. I did not receive an answer. It would not be until years later that I would understand the question of "Why?" The answer did finally come for me. Childhood should have happy memories and special times to remember. Your childhood should not be full of fears, mistrust, and so little self-esteem about yourself. A child should feel safe and have the feeling that the adults in their life are protecting them. I never had this!