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How does anyone free themselves emotionally from involvement since childhood in a cult-type environment? Libby's father, David, ruled the lives of his children with an iron hand based on his personal interpretation of the Bible. Instead of physical abuse, he maintained an atmosphere where questions were not answered, decisions were never explained, and moves were made without advanced notice. Libby's mother, who left him, was treated as if dead. Officials who questioned home schooling were avoided and outwitted. The family lived on the gracious gifts of unwitting church members or neighbors and friends who helped for the children's sake.
Since Libby believed that the church and Bible are God's final authority, what would it take for her to make a break from extremes that were unreasonable? David declared evening as the beginning of the day because he slept late; Libby knew that couldn't be right. Yet when she made her escape at age twenty-four, she chose to enter into a marriage under the same church rules.
Honeybone (a pen name?) sets the book's theme via subtitle and back cover comments that imply the story told in My Mocassins might not be totally true. Based on this, it is safe to assume that the book's heroine may be a compilation of the lives of several women… even the author. Moccasins takes on a strange spelling in the book title, but is corrected in the text. The unemotional voice of a third-person narrator details how Libby encountered cults, mental abuse, molestation by a neighbor, sleep apnea, and community shunning. The Foreword is written by a chaplain at a University health board in Wales. Little in the tale offers promise of joy. To her credit, the author has written a 170-page book that just may be the answer to someone's desperate prayer for understanding, self-acceptance, and hope.