Cruel Deception, written by Joy McQuiston, takes the reader on a graphic journey through the many realities of childhood domestic violence. It is gripping, compelling and truthful. The author uses humorous tones throughout the book, providing her readers with momentary pauses from the obvious pain they will feel piercing at their heart. It is nearly impossible for any reader to come away from this book, with little or no understanding of the harsh realities of domestic violence.

The reader will find themselves feeling an intensity of every emotion imaginable, including joy, revenge, anger, sadness, grief, pride, and hope. Viciously battered and abused, by both parents, Joy McQuiston struggles throughout her life to connect with the world around her. She is beaten by her father, nearly fatally, for accidentally dropping the eggs to be used for his breakfast. Her mother, from her childhood throughout her adult life, seems to have an inner drive to destroy not only Joy's spirit, but her very life.

Coming from a tumultuous and abusive home, Joy finds herself married to an abusive man. While the signals of abuse are gradual and slow, it eventually turns very dangerous and deadly. Once she has made the decision to leave her abuser, he decides that she is not deserving of life any longer. On one occasion, he arrives at her house and holds a gun to her head, threatening to kill her. On another occasion, he breaks into her home, savagely rapes her, and leaves her to deal with the traumatizing emotion; adding yet another secret for her to carry for years to come.

Although Joy is able to escape the abuse, she finds she must still deal with the effects of both her childhood abuse and the abuse within her marriage. However, she has a very unique talent of telling the reader her story, in an educational manner, rather than matter-of-factly. She helps the reader to view her life and the choices she made, from her perspective. The method in which this author writes causes the reader to envision what she has endured, as though they are truly standing at a window outside of the room in which she receives the abuse. The reader is taken on the turbulent winds of abuse and domestic violence. Yet, they are also taken high on wings of hope and promise, as this author determines in her heart to no longer allow the abuse to define her, but to define herself as an individual.

She is courageous enough to share her story with the reader, while graphically and vividly portraying the realities of the far reaching effects that domestic violence has upon a child, and on into their adult years. Long after the physical scars have disappeared, the emotional scars are present and visible. Joy McQuiston tells the reader, through her story, about the tricks and tactics of the abuser. She shows the reader, through the sharing of her horrid secrets, the truths of what many working in the domestic violence field know as crazy-making, the honeymoon stage, and all forms of abuse. She also expresses to the reader the various thought patterns and processes that a victim of any form of abuse endures.

Joy McQuiston is an exceptional writer, who has taken her shattered childhood, and early adult years, and gently held them in the palms of her hands for us to view, in the hopes of raising awareness on a very disturbing and ugly topic. She takes the secrets from the depths of her heart and graciously shares them with us, in the hopes that no other person will ever endure the trauma she was forced to endure. Joy McQuiston is to be commended and applauded on her exceeding courage.