In the summer of 1960, Gretchen Schiffer meets her future husband, Peter Neumann, for the first time at a family dinner that Hannah, her mother had invited him to with the express goal of playing the role of matchmaker. Hannah wants Gretchen to marry Peter. However, there are just two problems: 1.Gretchen is still angry that her mother and stepfather had just made her break up with her boyfriend Johnny and 2.She is only sixteen years old and in her mind too young to be married especially to a man she doesn't love.But to Gretchen's mother and stepfather, Peter Neumann is the perfect match because he belongs to their fundamentalist religion. Marrying Gretchen off at the age of sixteen, they believe, will save her from the sins of the flesh.Four months later, Gretchen becomes the child-bride of Peter Neumann. Leaving her childhood behind, she steps into the role of a married woman at an age when most girls have their Sweet Sixteenth Birthday Party. But she consoles herself realizing marriage is better than living under the same roof with her controlling and religiously fanatic parents.What she doesn't realize is she can't escape. Marriage brings on problems she is too young to deal with. Tormented by flashbacks and childhood memories, she now loses herself in a world between the past and the present. Her rapid change from girl to married woman pushes her to the brink. Haunted by her past, she retreats ever deeper into isolation, tortured by bizarre obsessive-compulsive behavior. When she is eighteen, she gives birth to her first son, Timothy. But instead of being happy, she sinks into a dark depression. Her husband, Peter, tells her to get over it, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't get over her melancholy. She sinks deeper into isolation and despair.As the months wear on she slowly comes out of her gloom and begins feeling better. One sunny summer day she goes shopping. Caught by surprise, she runs into the man of her dreams, Eduardo Giovanni, the man she remembers meeting briefly at a streetcar stop when she was just ten years old and he, at the time, was eighteen. Now, eight years later, they begin seeing each other. She finds herself at the crossroads. Which way will she turn? Will she follow her heart or stay faithful to a husband she doesn't love?Her choice ultimately brings her to a close brush with death. The only thing that can save her now is her determination. But will that be enough to avoid the destruction of her family? Is she so deeply enmeshed in her web of chaos that survival is impossible? And what of her husband Peter? What secrets has he kept from her just to get her to marry him? Can he exonerate himself from blame? Untangling the web of dishonesty and instability is almost impossible. What happens next, as the lives of everyone involved hang in the balance, will determine the outcome. Will Gretchen's desire for setting things straight at any expense give her the strength to save herself and her family, or will there be no way out of the crosshairs of destruction?
About the Author: An award-winning published writer/poet, E. Strupp-Martin writes literary and historical fiction exploring the psychological depths of her characters as they embark on a journey of self-discovery and growth. She earned a bachelor degree from Wayne State University and a master's degree from the University of Michigan.