Dark Obsession

Book excerpt: When the author was 8 years old, her stepfather, Bobby, began to molest her; when she was 13, the molestation escalated into sexual intercourse. Bobby was a brilliant and charismatic man, a millionaire in a small central Texas town where the community regarded him as its chief benefactor. His wife seemed not to want to know what was going on in the household, although she was upset by the frequent screaming matches between her husband and her daughter. When the author finally told her story, Bobby attempted suicide, then plea-bargained a sentence of a few months at a private psychiatric hospital; his step-daughter was sent to a religion-oriented reform school for a year. On her release she brought a civil suit against Bobby and was awarded $10 million.