Forgiveness.... Be Damned

This work of fiction surrounds the life of one family, that of Tommy Belanger, and encompasses the trials and tribulations associated with living in a dysfunctional family in a rural pocket of Canada in the early 50s. The problems associated with poverty, isolation and alcohol addiction are revealed: child abuse, incest and bestiality. Tommy tells his life’s story, from the time that he was five years old to his adulthood, of a life filled with death, loss and grief.
When Tommy’s Pa received a letter from his Uncle Fred, about a land of opportunity and black gold, the Manitoba family farm was immediately sold. Even a child of six could visualize the better future that would be found to the west. Within days they had packed up their meager belongings and drove towards the setting sun: where forests covered the hills and where money grew on trees; or so they were told.
Tommy knew that the life they lived was far from normal. He hated their lifestyle. He hated how it affected him and his siblings. And he detested his father. He watched his brothers and sisters leave the farm, one by one, and knew that their lives wouldn’t be far different from the one left behind. He knew that he too would leave one day. But, can that mold be broken. And, Tommy wondered, 'How far does one really fall from the proverbial tree?'
This tale deals with a subject matter that is often not discussed and is not for the faint of heart.