This story encapsulates the author's life, beginning with her earliest memory as a child. The story progresses through the trial of her estranged mother, Agnes M. Marsicano, who is currently in prison for attempting to hire a hitman to kill her father, Dwight, and her stepmother, Amy. While the author believes her mother is guilty of this crime, she feels she should be in a mental health facility, rather than a prison, because Agnes needs medical help no different than, for example, a person suffering from cancer. Agnes was sexually abused as a child and to that extent, she is biochemically unsound. However, there were time, especially during the author's early years, where Agnes was a wonderful mother.
Agnes was a wonderful mother around holidays and birthdays. She always made her daughters homemade cakes, decorated by her and we, as children, had more presents than we knew what to do with. Christmas was the same way: we always had more toys under the tree than we were able to open between 6 AM when we woke up and noon on Christmas Day.
"Nothing Gold can Stay"
- Robert Frost
As I turned from infant into toddler, and then again into a young girl, life in our house on the Drums Turnpike (in Fritzingertown, PA), steadily grew unstable.
Every day that I woke up, I knew that God was with me because I knew that He would not let me perish, ever. In spite of the difficult scenarios that were faced each morning, it is true that the Lord never gives you more than you can handle. Using humor and optimism as survival tools when I was young, I fought through each day, waiting until I was old enough to eventually leave and grow--prosper--somewhere far away.
Abuse is Cyclical
Abuse is, indeed, cyclical, if one allows it to be. Through self-reflection and constantly living each day in and of itself, it is possible to remember the past such that it is not repeated. We are only human and make errors along our way; however, to lessen the frequency of such errors, it is imperative that we consciously think back about our own actions and determine whether we are satisfied with how we are behaving. This book is about doing just that: each life here on our planet has a purpose---why else were we born? Hence, it is important to acknowledge early on that if you help others, life will hold meaning. Starting there--helping others, is one way to live a satisfied and successful life.
It is easy for us to let the days event get the best of us. Social media has taken over practically every aspect of our lives, and not in a good way. While we are glued to our cell phones, our children are aging, raising themselves and learning that they come second to technology. This is unfortunate, for families here in America and for any society in general.
It is also unfortunate that people are having fewer and fewer children these days. Children are the only way our future has any chance, and raising them firsthand at home, when possible, is not only good for their benefit but also is a boon to society, both local and national. The first five years are especially critical to spend with your young ones, at home, as much as possible. Economics aren't always helpful with respect to this. But if we continue to allow daycare and teachers to raise our children, this society that we value will change and not for the better, I prognosticate. (#stayathomemom #society #Humanbehavior)
I expected to see my mother's name in the obituary column, rather than in the headlines of the local news
She had not emailed me in several weeks and around the holidays, this was peculiar.
Although she is likely guilty of the crimes she is charged with, she will not see a fair trial in the district that the trial is taking place: Luzerne County, PA. Why? Because Amy Bicking, one of the people involved in the trial, worked for nearly 20 years (and still works, to the best of my knowledge) as the law librarian of Luzerne County in the Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, PA. She knows every judge, attorney and likely any juror who sits on the trial for Agnes A. Marsicano.
Trial to Be Rendered in January of 2019
I will continue to write more books--memoirs--which follow this story. I also hope to publish several children's books over the coming years. I do my own illustrations, and where i fall short, I rely on my children because they are talented artists as well.