"You've got to meet Ashley Asher, a teen heroine for our tough times."
- Robert Lipsyte, author of Raiders Night

I'm Beth Fehlbaum, YALSA Quick-Pick author of The Patience Trilogy: Courage, Hope, & Truth.

THE PATIENCE TRILOGY IS AVAILABLE FOR ACQUISITION.

Courage in Patience, Book 1, begins the Trilogy: 15 year old Ashley's anger and desperation drives her to make an outcry about the sexual abuse her stepfather has perpetrated on her from age 9. She is removed from her abusive home and placed with the biological father she has never known. There, her life begins anew.

Hope in Patience, Book 2, continues Ashley's story. Simply put, she's a mess. She's starting a new school in the tiny East Texas town of Patience, Texas, but that's not her biggest problem. It's her mother, Cheryl, who can't see that the sexual abuse perpetrated on Ashley for six years wasn't Ashley's choice. A woman who, even after her husband, Charlie, breaks Ashley's arm in an attempt to take her back to their home in the suburbs of Dallas, still testifies on his behalf at his trial for injury to a child. Ashley's stuck in a cycle of self-injury and self-hatred as a result, and the people who love her are struggling to pull her out of it.

Truth in Patience, Book 3 in the Trilogy, asks if it is possible for Ashley to overcome her abusive past enough to experience what it's like to have a boyfriend. Ashley has to dig deep to find out who she really is--especially when her mother finds herself alone and demands that Ashley leave the life she's begun to build and return to a life of lies.

Courage in Patience, the first book in the PATIENCE trilogy, was published in September 2008 IN PAPERBACK ONLY by Kunati, Inc., a short-lived Canadian publisher. There are a minute number of copies in circulation and for sale only through used booksellers. It was NOT marketed as YA fiction and in fact was marketed very little by the publisher. I earned out my advance (+). NO E-BOOK RIGHTS HAVE EVER BEEN EXPLOITED.

Hope in Patience, the second book, was published in October, 2010 IN HARDCOVER ONLY by WestSide Books. Hope in Patience was named a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. I earned out my advance (+). NO E-BOOK OR PAPERBACK RIGHTS HAVE EVER BEEN EXPLOITED.

Truth in Patience, the third, highly anticipated and much-demanded PATIENCE book, HAS NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED. OBVIOUSLY, NO PAPERBACK, E-BOOK, OR ANY OTHER RIGHTS HAVE BEEN EXPLOITED.

Chapter 1 of each book may be previewed on my website, http://www.bethfehlbaumya.com

I am at work on my 4th book, "Icing", about a 17 year old girl with Binge Eating Disorder whose life is changed forever when she bullies a gay classmate nearly to death.

The following is from COURAGE IN PATIENCE, Book 1 in The PATIENCE Series: 15 year old Ashley Nicole Asher's journey to recovery from childhood sexual abuse and mental disorders.

2/22/12 EXCERPT OF THE DAY + SYNOPSIS of HOPE IN PATIENCE:

I close my eyes and bow my head. “Please, God,” I whisper, hoping that Jesus or Allah or Jehovah or Somebody Up There is listening now—even though I know that He must not have been paying attention since I was nine years old, when Charlie started touching me and I started praying for help. I pause my shaking hand halfway up the door. Maybe I’ll just go back behind the clothes. But what if I am right and it is morning, and it’s time to get ready for school? I have a math test today, and I still need to study for it. I hold my breath, close my eyes, and twist the doorknob. The cool air of my bedroom hits my face.

I was right; the morning sun is real. He won’t come in the light. It’s early yet. I get ready for school as silently as I can. Then, fully dressed, I set my alarm to go off in thirty minutes. I crawl back into bed, burrow under the covers, and close my eyes. I feel my body relax for the first time since sunset the night before.

My clock radio clicks on, and a morning show host tells me that it’s going to be a beautiful day.

I walk into the kitchen for breakfast. I say nothing to Charlie, just glance at him as I walk by.

“You’re such a bitch in the morning,” Charlie says, looking up from his breakfast. “No man is ever going to want to marry you.”

“Wipe that go-to-hell look off your face,” Mom tells me.

“There’s no look,” I say dully, but inside I feel like screaming. I wish I could crawl out of my skin and kill someone—me. It’s an exercise in self-control not to grab a kitchen knife and stab myself in the neck. I want to die. I don’t even know why I want to hurt myself so much, but I do. I feel like a ticking time bomb.

Mom slaps my cheek hard. “There. I wiped it off for you,” she says.

“I didn’t even know I had any kind of look on my face!”

“Bullshit!” Charlie says. He rises, throws his plate of food into the sink, and storms out of the kitchen.

“Way to go, Ashley Nicole,” Mom says.

Just the start of another day in the Baker household. . . .

Thank God, I don’t live there any more. I’m sure I would have killed myself by now. Even though Charlie broke my arm a couple of months ago, when he and my mom showed up here in Patience to take me home one night and I told him I wouldn’t go, that visible scar of what he did to me is nothing compared to the ones nobody can see.

***

My name is Ashley Nicole Asher. My parents got married young because they had to. They thought that making my first and last names sound so similar was cute. The Nicole in the middle inspired Charlie to meld my first and middle names into his nickname for me: Ash-Hole. What a guy.

I guess my mom and my father, David, didn’t actually have to get married. My grandparents, Nanny and Papaw, weren’t enthusiastic about their eighteen-year-old daughter marrying a nineteen-year-old fledgling mechanic, the son of a father he’d never known and a woman who changed husbands as often as she changed her underwear. My grandfather, a doctor, arranged for one of his friends to give my mom an abortion, but when my dad heard about that, he talked my mom into running off with him to get married.

They landed in the tiny East Texas town of Patience, where my dad’s older brother Frank had settled on fifty acres of land that’s been in the Asher family for generations. Uncle Frank’s still here; he and David own Asher Automotive, which operates out of a barn-like shop in the pasture up the hill from our house. Frank’s a single dad to my cousin Stephen, who’s eleven. They live on the other side of the acreage from us.

When I was three months old, my mom, who’d had enough of my dad’s drinking and quick temper, took off for her hometown of LaSalle, a suburb of Dallas. My dad never went after her or tried to see me, and if Child Protective Services hadn’t called him to come get me last May, I probably never would’ve gotten to know him. I wouldn’t have found out that he’s never touched a drop of alcohol since the day my mom took me and left or that he went through counseling to get his rage under control.

SYNOPSIS OF HOPE IN PATIENCE:

Ashley Nicole Asher, 15, is a mess. She's starting a new school in the tiny East Texas town of Patience, Texas, but that's not her biggest problem. It's her mother, Cheryl, who can't see that the sexual abuse perpetrated on Ashley for six years wasn't Ashley's choice. A woman who, even after her husband, Charlie, breaks Ashley's arm in an attempt to take her back to their home in the suburbs of Dallas, still testifies on his behalf at his trial for injury to a child. Ashley's stuck in a cycle of self-injury and self-hatred as a result, and the people who love her are struggling to pull her out of it.

David, Ashley's long-absent father, hadn't seen his daughter since infancy, until he showed up in the offices of Child Protective Services to bring her back to his home in the woods of East Texas, and the life he's built with his wife of ten years, Beverly, and their son, Ben. No longer a heavy drinking rage-a-holic, he's sworn he'll spend the rest of his life making up lost time with Ashley, and hopefully earning her trust and love.

Beverly is balancing her life as stepmom to Ashley with her job as a high school English teacher, and her reputation in the community as a magnet for controversy.

Scott "Dr. Matt" Matthews, a slightly unconventional, drop-kick-the-teddy-bear and kick-the-desk therapist, is determined to pull Ashley out of the darkness she crawls into when her self-destructive tendencies overtake her better judgement, and the "squirrel on speed" that gets going in her mind is making laps and chugging Red Bull.

More than anything else, Ashley craves normalcy. She envies girls who can experience relationships with guys without fear of being touched, and she wishes that being a consistent back-of-the-pack finisher in cross-country was her biggest problem.

But.. do other people have it that easy?

Krystle "K.C." Williamson has an electric guitar named Kurt and a mother who believes that the best cure for K.C.'s homosexuality would be a trip to J.C. Penney's to pick up some cute skirts instead of the t-shirts and jeans that K.C. wears every day.

Pam Littlejohn is driven by jealousy and insecurity to push herself hard for a cross-country medal in State, and to spread the rumor that Ashley moved to Patience because she had an affair with her stepfather Charlie.

Marcus Merriweather is so afraid of not having all the answers, he hides behind THE Holy Bible (the only "version" that's right), and a stiflingly narrow world-view.

T.W. Griffin quit his position as running back for his father's Patience Panthers football team, and now his dad's hell-bent on making Bev Asher pay for taking his son from him.

Zaquoiah "Z.Z." Freeman, self-described as "bountiful, bodacious, and beautiful", is fighting the urge to knock Pam's smirk right off her face and beat Marcus to death with his holier-than-thou attitude. She's still reeling from her cousin, Jasper, being nearly beaten to death earlier in the year, and depends on dancing to help her deal with the fear that comes with being a racial minority in small Southern town.

In a shocking turn of events, Ashley is forced to choose between living her life or longing for a relationship that was never what she had convinced herself it had to be. Will her new family be enough to keep her from treating her skin like a scratching post, sliding back into suicidal fantasies and hiding in small dark spaces?

*SYNOPSES OF ALL 3 BOOKS ARE IN THE "PROJECTS ON OFFER" SECTION, BELOW.

Reviews of COURAGE IN PATIENCE:

Publisher's Weekly: "..Ashley's self-destructive tendencies, conflicted feelings and struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder read authentically.."

"Courage in Patience is a powerfully written and unforgettable story of survival and growth--the best of the human spirit. My admiration for Beth Fehlbaum is enormous--she has taken a painful chapter from her own life and turned it into a work of art that will help many people--congrats Beth!"
--Terry Trueman, award-winning author of Stuck in Neutral

BOOKLIST: Nine-year-old Ashley Asher was pleased when her mother started a relationship with Charlie Baker. Charlie, Ashley thought, would be the father she never had. She was 9 then; now 15, she recounts the story of how her dream life soon turned to nightmare, commencing with the first time Charlie touched her inappropriately.

For years she tolerated it--not only the sexual abuse but also the emotional manipulation her stepfather inflicted on her, until one day she confronted both Charlie and her mother.

To Ashley's horror, her mother sided with Charlie, leaving the teenager to find her own way, prompting her to reestablish a connection with her biological father. Though the subject matter is undeniably dark, Fehlbaum manages to keep the tone surprisingly light and hopeful. This hard-hitting but readable story about an infinitely troubling subject will resonate with all readers but especially with other survivors of abuse or with those who work with those survivors.

Reviews of HOPE IN PATIENCE:

VOYA: At first I thought this book was only for abuse victims, and that it was going to be another weepy story about how miserable life can be. I was astounded to find that anyone can relate to Ashley's story and that the book was remarkably optimistic and fun. It teaches many valuable lessons on overcoming problems in a captivating way. I strongly recommend others to read it. 5Q,4P. Reviewer: Alisa Billig, Teen Reviewer

School Library Journal Excerpt: ".. The author is to be applauded for her courageous and accurate portrayal of the many small steps that lead toward psychological healing. It is Ashley's friendships with other 'misfits' that help Ashley understand that she, too, deserves love. This book will open hearts and might well save lives."

(To read full review, please visit: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/printissuecurrentissue/887982-427/grades_5__up.html.csp)

Honest and direct, Ashley Asher is a beacon for at-risk teens. You are not alone, her story says; others have survived and so can you. This is one of the hardest and most important things for at-risk teens to remember -- and believe -- during their long, lonely nights of the soul. Hope in Patience is the kind of book that can save lives. - Allan Stratton, Printz Honor author of Chanda's Secrets and Borderline

Beth Fehlbaum digs down into the intensely painful and unforgettable pain of Ashley Asher, a girl who has every reason to give up all hope, but who chooses the far more difficult path, finding a way to be strong and healthy. An extremely brave work, Hope in Patience takes us places we don't want to go but must, if we are to care about victims of child sexual abuse. -Terry Trueman, Printz Honor Author of Stuck in Neutral

Hope in Patience is a powerful novel about overcoming abuse, letting go of anger, and learning the true meaning of family. Thankfully, most readers will never endure Ashley's trauma, but all readers can identify with her vulnerability as she journeys on the road to resilience. - Daria Snadowsky, author of Anatomy of a Boyfriend

The grittiest, most uncompromising story I've ever read about a mother and daughter. You've got to meet Ashley Asher, a teen heroine for our tough times. - Robert Lipsyte, author of Raiders Night and The Contender

Ashley's story is both heartbreaking and inspiring, a true testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit. Written with elegance and fearless honesty, this book is a shot of hope, and quite simply a must-read for anyone who's suffered abuse. - Jennifer Brown, author of Hate List, a 2010 ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a 2009 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Beth Fehlbaum touches on many life issues here, but the book's strength and Fehlbaum's talent show in her eloquent core story of 15-year-old Ashley Nicole's painful and courageous struggle out of deep psychological damage caused by years of abuse and molestation into the beginning of healing and the gradual return of self-esteem, personhood, and an understanding of the true nature of love.

--Nancy Garden, author of Annie on My Mind, named by ALA as One of the Best of the BestBooks for Young Adults of the Last 4 Decades of the 20th Century

In this powerful story Fehlbaum scrapes below the surface of the trauma caused by sexual abuse,exposing layer after layer of pain and damage. She then shows how complex the healing process is, fraught with setbacks. Using a cast of delightful, multi-dimensional characters, Fehlbaum also shows that recovery is possible, and the human spirit is indomitable. A remarkable achievement.

--Shelley Hrdlitschka, author of Dancing Naked, an ALA Quick Pick 2003, ALA Best Book Nominee 2003, ALA Popular Paperback Nominee 2003, CLA Y/A Honour Book 2002, White Pine Award (Ontario Readers Choice Award) 2002, CCBC Our Choice Award 2002, International Reading Association Choice for Young Adults, ALA Popular Paperback, 2005

This gripping novel takes us deep into the emotional devastation of Ashley Asher, who finds strength and courage in a small Texas town after her step-father's abuse and mother's abandonment. Readers won't be able to put this book down.

-- Mary Beth Miller, author of AIMEE, a 2002 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Colorado Blue Spruce Book for 2003, & named by Barnes and Noble as one of the Best of 2002 in their teen category

From Teri Lesesne, AKA "Professor Nana", the "Goddess of YA Literature":

It took me entirely too long to read HOPE IN PATIENCE by Beth Fehlbaum (West Side Books 2010). Somehow this book got stuck behind other books. I should not be permitted to double shelve ANYthing. In any event, it kept me good company on the flight to NYC last week. I am pleased to be able finally to talk about this remarkable book about the resiliency of the human spirit.

Ashley Asher has moved in with her father and stepmother in their home in Patience, Texas. She has not known her father long, but he has rescued her from an abusive household with her mother and stepfather. Now, Ashley hopes to put some of the awful events of her past behind her. It is not a simple matter; Ashley's stepfather sexually abused her; Ashley's mother defended him instead of protecting her own daughter. Ashley wants desperately to be like everyone else in her class: carefree, happy, "normal." With the help of her new family and some other caring people in her life, there might just be light at the end of the tunnel.

There are no easy answers here. Nor should there be given the circumstances Ashley has to live with and then somehow survive. Fehlbaum has told an honest, searing story that shows Ashley moving slowly toward what will be her "normal." This should offer hope for readers, especially those who might find themselves in similarly frightening situations.

Dear Beth,

I read a lot of books. No, I mean a lot! A physical review is required before selection and I read the first three chapters, dip into the middle and read the end of all your fiction that goes into our collection. That said…I read your entire book without stopping. I was crying by the end. What a complex and fragile thing our humanness is. Thank you for this story.

Cathie Sue Andersen

Selector -Youth Fiction

Tulsa City-County Library Support Service Center

1339 N Lansing

Tulsa OK 74106

Children's Literature Review of Hope in Patience (from Barnes & Noble site)

This is not a light, easy teen book. It is, however, an important read. It covers some timely, but sometimes controversial topics in a way that is highly accessible to today's teens. After six years of sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather, Ashley Asher, fifteen, has just moved to tiny Patience, Texas. Her father, a recovering alcoholic whom she has not seen since she was three months old, has straightened out his life and become her refuge along with his new wife Bev, a high school English teacher. Patience is nothing like the suburbs of Dallas, but it is here that she begins to take the slow, painful steps necessary to deal with her past. Ashley's road to recovery is not pretty and is not easy. She sometimes resorts to cutting to deal with the pain. She sometimes, in dealing with traumatic flashbacks, finds herself hiding in the armoire. She also struggles to deal with the accusatory actions—and blatant inactions—of the mother she thought loved her. But recovering from sexual abuse is not the only topic touched on here. There is Z.Z., an African-American in a small, mostly-white southern town; K.C., whose parents will not accept her homosexuality; and Marcus, whose religion is the driving force in his life.

Ashley's struggles to make friends in a new school, to fit in, to figure out who she is are normal teen issues even if her personal history is not. Even readers who have not been abused will connect with Ashley and her friends. Their voices are real. Their struggles are real. For those who have or are dealing with similar issues, this book speaks up where perhaps they cannot.

A 2011 YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, this title deserves a place in every high school and community library.

Reviewer: Kris Sauer

Truth in Patience, book 3 in the Patience series, is complete as of July, 2011.

ICING is my work-in-progress, about a 17 year old girl with Binge Eating Disorder whose life changes forever when she bullies a gay classmate nearly to death.

THE PATIENCE TRILOGY

Courage in Patience, the first book in the PATIENCE trilogy, was published in September 2008 by Kunati, Inc., a short-lived Canadian publisher. There are a minute number of copies in circulation and for sale only through used booksellers. It was NOT marketed as YA fiction and in fact was marketed very little by the publisher. The chapter preview on my website, http://www.bethfehlbaumya.com/courageinpatiencebook1.htm is the 2011 REVISED VERSION.

Hope in Patience, the second book, was published in October, 2010 by WestSide Books, an independent publisher. Hope in Patience was named a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Chapter One is posted here: http://www.bethfehlbaumya.com/hopeinpatiencebook2.htm

Truth in Patience, the third, highly anticipated and much-demanded PATIENCE book, HAS NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED. Read the first chapter here: http://www.bethfehlbaumya.com/truthinpatiencebook3.htm

I am an experienced English teacher and I frequently draw on my experience as an educator to write my books. I have a B.A. in English, minor Secondary Education, and an M.Ed. in Reading.

I earned out my advances(+) on both Courage in Patience and Hope in Patience, respectively.

Hope in Patience is a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.

I have a platform and a following in the young adult literature world and also among survivors of sexual abuse because of my work with victims' advocacy groups. I was the keynote speaker at the National Crime Victims' Week Commemoration Ceremony at the Hall of State in Dallas, Texas. I was a presenter for Greater Texas Community Partners--I addressed a group of social workers and foster children on the subject of "Hope". I used the launch of Hope in Patience as a fundraiser for the East Texas Crisis Center, and I continue to use my time and talents to reach out to those who share with me the journey of surviving abuse.

I was a panelist at the inaugural YAK-- Young Adult Keller (Texas) Book Festival, along with Ellen Hopkins, Charles Benoit, Kelly Milner Halls, and several other YA fiction authors.

I am going to be on a panel at the YALSA Conference in St. Louis in November with Ellen Hopkins, Jo Knowles, Selene Castrovilla, Shannon Delany, and Deborah Heiligman!

The topic of our panel is: "A Fickle Future: YA Authors Discuss Trend-spotting and Timeless Keys to Literary Success when Facing the Disconnect of the Digital Age": With so much at their fingertips, how can we grab and connect with teen readers? What’s more important: content or flair – or should we blend both? Can the next big thing be predicted – or carefully created? Authors Selene Castrovilla, Shannon Delany, Ellen Hopkins, Jo Knowles, Deborah Heiligman, and Beth Fehlbaum discuss past teen literature trends, their personal experiences, and debate what the future holds. What does the future hold for the story and the personal connection we all strive to make with readers in a digital age, and how can we make reading more appealing and accessible to all young adult readers?"

I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and I worked for six long hard years in therapy to overcome my past; thus I have a unique perspective to write Ashley Asher's story of recovery from childhood sexual abuse and how she learns to cope with a variety of disorders that she has as a result of her abuse.

The PATIENCE Trilogy: Courage, Hope, and Truth.

ICING will be complete as of Summer 2012.

SYNOPSES OF THE PATIENCE TRILOGY:

Courage in Patience Synopsis

Ashley Nicole Asher’s life changes forever on the night her mother, Cheryl, meets Charlie Baker. Within a year of her mother’s marriage to Charlie, typical eight-year-old Ashley’s life becomes a nightmare of sexual abuse and emotional neglect. Bundling her body in blankets and sleeping in her closet to try to avoid Charlie's nighttime assaults, she is driven by rage at age 14 to to tell her mother, in spite of the threats Charlie has used to keep Ashley silent. Believing that telling will make Charlie go away, instead it reveals to Ashley where she lies on her mother's list of priorities.

"We’re just going to move on now,” Cheryl tells Ashley. “Go to your room.” Ashley's psyche splinters into shards of glass, and she desperately tries to figure a way out, while at the same time battling numbness and an inability to remember what happened when she blacked out after Charlie tackled her. She knew that when she awoke her clothes were disheveled and the lower-half of her body was covered in bright red blood-- but she has only a blank spot in the "video" of her memory.

When Ashley’s friend, Lisa, sees a note from Cheryl telling Ashley that Charlie would never “do those things to her,” and insisting that she apologize for accusing him of molesting her, Lisa forces dazed Ashley to make an outcry to her teacher, Mrs. Chapman.

By the end of the day, Ashley’s father, David, who has not seen Ashley since she was three months old, is standing in the offices of Child and Family Services. He brings her home to the small East Texas town of Patience, where he lives with his wife, Beverly, their son, Ben, and works with his brother, Frank.

Through the summer school English class/ Quest for Truth taught by Beverly, an "outside-the-box" high school English teacher whose passion for teaching comes second only to her insistence upon authenticity, Ashley comes to know Roxanne Blake, a girl scarred outwardly by a horrific auto crash and inwardly by the belief that she is "Dr. Frankenstein's little experiment";

Wilbur "Dub" White, a fast-talking smart mouth whose stepfather is a white supremacist who nearly kills a man while Dub watches from the shadows, forcing Dub to realize that he cannot live with the person that he is, any longer;

Zaquoiah “Z.Z.” Freeman, one of the few African-Americans in Patience, whose targeted-for-extinction family inherited the estate of one of Patience’s founding families and has been given the charge to "turn this godforsaken town on its head";

Hector "Junior" Alvarez, a father at sixteen whose own father was killed in prison, who works two jobs and is fueled by the determination to "do it right" for his son, "Three", and his girlfriend, Moreyma;

T.W. Griffin, whose football-coach father expects him to be Number One at everything, and whose mother naively believes that he is too young to think about sex; and

Kevin Cooper, a not-so-bright football player with a heart of gold, whose mother, Trini, a reporter for the local paper, is instrumental in exposing the ugliness that is censorship.

Every person in the class is confronted with a challenge that they must face head-on. The choices they make will not be easy—but they will be life-altering. With the exception of her mother and step-father, Ashley is surrounded by people who overcome their fear to embrace authenticity and truth-- the only way to freedom. But will Ashley have the inner-fortitude to survive the journey to recovery and the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Will Ashley find her voice, speak up for herself, and break the bondage of her abusive past?

Realizing "she's gonna need a lot more than we have," David and Bev enlist the help of Scott "Dr. Matt" Matthews, an experienced, slightly unconventional therapist who insists that Ashley can and must come out hiding in the closet in her mind.

The Chris Crutcher novel, Ironman, is taught by Beverly Asher in the summer school class. When T.W.’s overbearing parents read the book, they decide that the book should be censored, and they involve the pastor of Patience’s largest, most conservative church to lead the fight through the Purify Patience organization. Its mission is to cleanse Patience of Profanity, Promiscuity, and Parent-Bashing Pedagogy—all complaints the group has about the novel, Ironman. Its hidden agenda, however, is to return Patience to a time when "Patience was 100% white", "women knew their place","everyone had plenty of money", and "Christian values were taught in school."

The censoring, pseudo-Christian, white-supremacist, misogynist organization is exposed for what it is in a courageous move by one of its own (well..his mother threatens to twist his ear off if he doesn't speak up), isolating the pastor and causing most of his “flock” to deny they ever knew him. National and world press attention shine speculation on the dirty little secrets hidden in Patience, and its inhabitants are forced to examine their own values and beliefs.

Alone in the dark, Ashley must face her worst fears in a pivotal scene between her, Charlie, and her mother. Will Ashley, like her friends, find courage in Patience?

Hope in Patience Synopsis

Ashley Nicole Asher, 15, is a mess. She's starting a new school in the tiny East Texas town of Patience, Texas, but that's not her biggest problem. It's her mother, Cheryl, who can't see that the sexual abuse perpetrated on Ashley for six years wasn't Ashley's choice. A woman who, even after her husband, Charlie, breaks Ashley's arm in an attempt to take her back to their home in the suburbs of Dallas, still testifies on his behalf at his trial for injury to a child. Ashley's stuck in a cycle of self-injury and self-hatred as a result, and the people who love her are struggling to pull her out of it.

David, Ashley's long-absent father, hadn't seen his daughter since infancy, until he showed up in the offices of Child Protective Services to bring her back to his home in the woods of East Texas, and the life he's built with his wife of ten years, Beverly, and their son, Ben. No longer a heavy drinking rage-a-holic, he's sworn he'll spend the rest of his life making up lost time with Ashley, and hopefully earning her trust and love.

Beverly is balancing her life as stepmom to Ashley with her job as a high school English teacher, and her reputation in the community as a magnet for controversy.

Scott "Dr. Matt" Matthews, a slightly unconventional, drop-kick-the-teddy-bear and kick-the-desk therapist, is determined to pull Ashley out of the darkness she crawls into when her self-destructive tendencies overtake her better judgement, and the "squirrel on speed" that gets going in her mind is making laps and chugging Red Bull.

More than anything else, Ashley craves normalcy. She envies girls who can experience relationships with guys without fear of being touched, and she wishes that being a consistent back-of-the-pack finisher in cross-country was her biggest problem.

But.. do other people have it that easy?

Krystle "K.C." Williamson has an electric guitar named Kurt and a mother who believes that the best cure for K.C.'s homosexuality would be a trip to J.C. Penney's to pick up some cute skirts instead of the t-shirts and jeans that K.C. wears every day.

Pam Littlejohn is driven by jealousy and insecurity to push herself hard for a cross-country medal in State, and to spread the rumor that Ashley moved to Patience because she had an affair with her stepfather Charlie.

Marcus Merriweather is so afraid of not having all the answers, he hides behind THE Holy Bible (the only "version" that's right), and a stiflingly narrow world-view.

T.W. Griffin quit his position as running back for his father's Patience Panthers football team, and now his dad's hell-bent on making Bev Asher pay for taking his son from him.

Zaquoiah "Z.Z." Freeman, self-described as "bountiful, bodacious, and beautiful", is fighting the urge to knock Pam's smirk right off her face and beat Marcus to death with his holier-than-thou attitude. She's still reeling from her cousin, Jasper, being nearly beaten to death earlier in the year, and depends on dancing to help her deal with the fear that comes with being a racial minority in small Southern town.

In a shocking turn of events, Ashley is forced to choose between living her life or longing for a relationship that was never what she had convinced herself it had to be. Will her new family be enough to keep her from treating her skin like a scratching post, sliding back into suicidal fantasies and hiding in small dark spaces?

Truth in Patience Synopsis

Ashley Nicole Asher is finally adjusting to life in the small town of Patience, Texas. She’s been going out with Joshua Brandt for three months and he’s wild about her…but what will she do when memories of childhood sexual abuse intrude with the natural progression of their relationship?

Ashley’s mom, Cheryl, marks Ashley’s sixteenth birthday by sending her a boxful of Ashley’s baby clothes and photos with Ashley cut out of every one of them…and Cheryl still won’t admit that her late husband, Charlie, stole Ashley’s innocence.

Dr. Matt, Ashley’s slightly unconventional therapist, is determined to help Ashley see that just because her body reacted to the things Charlie did to her, it does not mean that Ashley chose to participate in the abuse, and that the only way to freedom is to embrace truth.

Ashley’s father, David, and stepmom, Bev, are at the breaking point when it comes to dealing with Ashley’s tendency to self-mutilate when she is angry or hurt. And Bev’s dealing with challenges in her job, too, as an English teacher at Patience High School. When all of her students choose the controversial novel—Chris Crutcher’s Whale Talk—for their independent study of a multicultural book, she wonders if she will again have her feet held to the fire at a school board meeting for guiding her students to ask hard questions.

When Jeff Foster’s dad opens the “Dixie Pride” store as a means of dispelling the “myth” that the Confederate flag represents slavery, Jeff comes face-to-face with students whose family members were directly involved in the Slocum Massacre. Soon, he comes face-to-face with his white-hooded father as well, and he must decide for himself what kind of “pride” his dad is really selling.

As Dr. Matt says, “Life’s Messy”—and Ashley’s friends and family are finding out just how messy it can be.

Ashley’s Human Ecology teacher, Ms. Manos, is teaching the students about dating and love relationships —in between running to the hallway with bouts of morning sickness and planning her wedding to Ashley’s Uncle Frank. Ms. Manos will be relieved if she can keep her pregnancy a secret before the news gets out in the tiny town—and also if she can get Travis Hager to stop referring to sex as “Bow-chicka-wow-wow.”

K.C. Williamson’s mother has taken up full-time substitute teaching and volunteering at Patience High School, because if she’s watching her all the time, she thinks K.C. won’t be gay.

And, when Ashley’s grandparents go on an extended vacation and Cheryl is all alone, Cheryl insists that Ashley come back to her: after all, she has papers proving that she has primary custody of Ashley.

In a heart-pounding, long-awaited confrontation, Ashley must find a way to get her mom to see that the game playing won’t work anymore. Ashley insists on TRUTH IN PATIENCE.