June lived in terror of her dad. The horrific fear made its home as a constant knot in her stomach; it seized her tongue, causing her to stutter. Her dad drank continually, often becoming violent. He was verbally abusive as well; he frequently threw harsh insults at June and her mother. June saw him beat her mother again and again, nearly killing her. By the time June turned nine, her dad beat and slapped her upside the head just for walking past him. The police would come, after receiving a call from June’s mother, but nothing changed. Because she was afraid of her dad, June spent a lot of time alone in her bedroom.
Through the mess in their lives, June’s mother talked to her about God and shared her faith in Jesus. June’s dad only allowed the family to attend church on Christmas Eve and maybe one other day during the year.
The sexual molestation began when June was only eleven. She withdrew into herself, becoming even quieter. Around age fifteen, June mustered up the courage to tell her mother what her dad had been doing to her all those years. They went to the police station where June told her story. Her dad went to prison for five years. She was finally free from him -- or was she?
When June was sixteen, her mother died of untreated cancer because she hadn’t been allowed to go to the doctor. The house was sold. Her sister ended up in foster care; June was on he ...
