This is a story about abuse. It takes you into the mind of a girl who has been tormented her whole life by the one person she should have been able to count on, but couldn’t.
A PRISONER WITHIN was very therapeutic for me. It allowed me to purge some of my personal nightmares while bringing awareness to the subjects of neglect and abuse. Though this is a work of fiction, portions of the story are based on real events; some originating from my own experiences – either as the victim or a witness – while others were taken from accounts of people I know to have lived through them. Of course, I had to take some creative liberties in order to write a cohesive story, developing the storyline in the necessary direction, so some aspects are simply imagined.
I take neglect and abuse seriously. It wasn’t easy to write to this novel, but I felt it was necessary, not only for awareness, but to offer hope as well. I want my readers to leave with a sense of hope and to understand that life is about choices. Everyone has secrets, but what happens when they are brought to light? How do you discern the victim(s) from the perpetrator(s) when things aren’t always as they appear?
”With A PRISONER WITHIN, J.M. Northup hits her stride.”
–Kathleen O’Neal Gear & W. Michael Gear, authors of PEOPLE OF THE MORNING STAR–
“I sat stunned after I finished this book.”
-Amazon review-