All Comments on 'Facing the Past'

Fucking hell this was rough. In a good way. I see people like Annabeth everyday. It's very hard to maintain professional distance sometimes.

Pennlady, this was amazing. I absolutely loved it, but it really broke my heart. I'm glad they got together in the end. Thank you for writing this and sharing it with us.

Pitiful that this writer allowed the beatings on a woman and child to continue for so many fucking years with fuck all being done on the bastards

Most comments are simple praise.

Overcritical's was like giving it a 10+ on scale of five.

Married to a Adult Survivor for 53 years. Love really helps the victim, but the memory remains hidden and the bad dreams occur occasionally.

From the counseling side: the greatest healing happens when the imposed guilt goes.

In a way that is true for all of us. We have to have faith in total forgiveness.

Loved the story!

While anonymous may be right about victims of childhood abuse uniformly suffering for the rest of their lives, fortunately she has a strong, kind, understanding and loving man to help her, she knows that her abusers are all dead, and IT'S ONLY FICTION, so I expect that she'll be able to leave it all behind and live happily ever after.

In reality, the fact that she fought back to the extent that she could, and never gave up, would also help.

Overcritical wonders if Annabeth can ever recover. The answer is a big “NO”. I have dealt with many victims of childhood abuse and they uniformly suffer for the rest of their lives, in one way or another.

This in the end was an interesting story, her mom finally got some courage and protected her daughter, well done.

Beautifully balanced; a wonderful compact piece of prose.

"Visit with" is fairly common, colloquial, American English, and has been for at least a century. Probably more common in the South, but it's used and understood in the North (where I grew up, though my family came from the South). Yes, it means to converse, but it strongly suggests spending time. It also suggests that it's being done in the home of one of the parties, but that's not always the case. It suggests friendliness (one can converse in a hostile manner) and informality.

All this can be verified easily enough. Just because you're unfamiliar with a word or phrase doesn't mean it's "crazy language"; sometimes it just means you haven't encountered it, or you forgotten having done so. I tend to be picky and overcritical about language myself, but this phrase is widespread and of long standing.

And you sure make it sound like this is a make-or-break point for the story.

PennLady, this one's another keeper. IMNVHO, anyway. Good job! (I know Anon won't be back to see what I wrote. I guess your story left me feeling a little over-protective. Sorry.)

It's trite, but this is a tale of continuing hope. Annabeth is crushed again and again, but somehow there's always a glimmer of hope deep down. We should always remember this althought it makes more sense to get away from the pressures and the evil that surrounds us all at times. It's too bad that it took 12 years to get her to reunite with Chris, but better late than never. I wonder if someone with her experience can ever fully recover from the treatment she endured. But she certainly should try and with Chris's help maybe they can find something good together. This was a well done story and I have to admire the slow, steady way this tale proceeds to a very bittersweet, yet satisfying ending.

Beautiful story.

I think I have a crush on Pennlady.

This is a story I come back to re-read. It is a heart-wrenching, yet hopeful, triumph of love and the human spirit.

Well written... the transition back and forth results in non stop reading

Thanks for your time

Not novella length, but not so short as to result in poorly contrived plot points and endings. Perfect.

I'm about as much of a he-man as one could get, but the first-time love-making of Nabby and Chris was, well, quite touching. The tenderness with which Chris treated Nabby, contrasting as it did the daily horror of this sensitive girl's life, had me moved nearly to tears. I guess I'm an old softy by now. The seething menace of the father and brother lurking in the background--like a living, breathing nightmare--added a dread note to the tension created by Nabby's uncertainty about her chances with Chris, and her emotional and physical scars suffered literally at the hands of those two vermin.

Well done. It was a true pleasure reading this story.

I quote:-

"Now, you have some and visit with Annabeth. I'm going to go see Cassie."

What on earth do you mean by "visit with" in that context?

They are in the same room, for heaven's sake - he does not have to visit her!

Surely you mean, and should have written, "Now, you have some TALK (or CONVERSATION) with Annabeth. I'm going to go see Cassie."

Her mother woke up at the end. She said she'll handle it because she is the mother.

Too bad she didn't think of it sooner.

Nice piece, though.

They will burn in hell where they belong. Pure evil family, except for Nabby!

You are becoming one of my favorite writers on Literotica...Keep up the great work.

5 Stars

That is some FINE writing.

Amazing just what she had to go through with her family and no one stood up for her except Chris and his mom but thankfully it all worked out....sad to say there are nasty people like her family around still...so glad the two of them found each other at last and have a happy life together to look forward to...a great story - loved it

excellent, emotional

I thought if was a heartwarming story. Nice twist with the mother though knowing it was an inescapable situation. Thank you for the story

I loved this story. The plot, the characters, the love scenes...it was just the perfect short story.

-YD

A story with a dark side, and very well written.

I am working my way through your stories having found you on the current "Rhythm and the Blue Line" (hope I got that right). You write very well and as others have said. please keep submitting these gems for us to enjoy.

Wow, I just love your stories. You are an amazing writer. Please don't stop!!!

This one is just as good if not better then your other stories. A strong build up, solid sex scenes, but I thought it a abrupt ending. I agree with some of the others here that this story should have a second part.....but of course that's up to the author. Please keep us posted not only on this story but any and all others as well.

I believe there could be a sequel to this, telling about the love they share and their steps to overcome the horrors of her previous life.

Please, consider it.

Thanks for the story.

This was a really great story. I like stories that have happy endings, such as this one. Great job. 5***** toby9790.

Just an outstanding story! Good plot and excellent character development. It is a wonderfully moving story.

There were some minor rewrites that I'd recommend, but they are minor. You did an excellent job of packing a 300 page novel into 50. That takes a truly gifted writer! Loved the characters, the plot development, and the happy ending. I look forward to catching up with the rest of your stories.

Wow-- that was amazing. I teared up on more than one occasion and I could more than feel the pain of the characters. I appreciated the flashbacks... it made the story very easy to follow. Sometimes, when a story starts off with the "background" info first, you don't always retain everything as the story progresses. The way you wrote it was fabulous, because it gave the implication of what happened.... and then you went back and gave us the details.

Very well done... and I'm so glad for the happy ending. I guess her mom was right when she told Ethan that she would take care of it. After all those years of letting her be abused, her mom finally stepped up and did something just for her. She would have never been rid of them if she hadn't set the house on fire. Wow is all I can say!

I chose this story to introduce myself to you and enjoyed the story very much. Not only was it well told, but was almost entirely free of the errors we have discussed. LOL. I gave it a five.

Seriously now you couldn't make me cry more if you shuved an onion under my nose but God as much as I like giving my own end to the story your little cliff hangers are killing me and you are now my favorite author thanks for another phenomenal story

I'm not a writer, at least not of fiction or poetry. So I am always amazed at what you can do with a story. I've read hundreds of the stories here, and you are a favorite. Keep up the excellent work.

little boy staring up at the sign, with his mouth hanging open, and his eyes wide. pure wonder on his face...

thats me, and i agree with the strong human spirit coment.

from anonymus... ;-]

I loved it!! A great lesson about strong human spirits....excellent and very touching.

I am a big fan of your work, and in doing so, you've never ceased to absolutely enthrall me with what you write. Keep it coming and I'll keep reading it!

I wonder how Ethan was before he married Karen. The real centre of evil appears to have been Eve. Once she had died Karen came to her senses and saved her daughter.

I've read several of your other stories, so I wanted to read some more. So glad I did. If you ever get bored, you should definitely write a sequel to this so we can find out what happens next in the lives of these two. A really great story, I just wish there were more!

Outstanding story!

Fan-friggin-tastic! WOW! This isn't the first story I've read of yours (obviously) but clearly one of your best. I loved it from beginning to end. Absolutely outstanding. Okay, I'm done gushing now! :)

I hadn't read this submission yet... It was fabulous!

I smiled, I cried, I got angry... GREAT STORY!!!!

Amazing story! I especially liked the ending where it appears that the mother (Karen) killed her husband, son, and herself to protect her daughter from those monsters. A bit anticlimactic, I'll admit, but a genuine act of redemption on the part of Karen towards her daughter. Four stars!!

What a wonderful story of lasting love and the strength of a person. Of more than one person, really, if you count Chris. Very sad but at the same time, uplifting. A good, honest story. Loved it, PennLady, so glad you wrote it!

Great narration and very sad. Shows how strong human sprit can be.

Thanks PennLady !

Eyery romantic should read this. Absolutely great!

Great writing. This is just as good as any novel on the bookshelves. You have a great talent.

Too bad 5/100 is the highest you can rate a story. This deserves a 1,000, or, better yet, to be on the best-seller list. Not one single word out of place. Riveting characters and a well-paced plot. There's drama, tension, intrigue, passion, everything a good story needs. The only thing that might have made it a little better was resolving why Chris was there in the first place, or why Pete happened to be there at the same time. A holiday of some sort? At any rate, masterful storytelling.

....story development-pistolpackinpete

I am glad you did not pretend that leaving made it all better! As Annabeth said, some of the bruises were gone.

I loved it. Great story, not my typical type of story but I loved it all the same. You are an amazing writer!

Sethp