Racheli is a regular American modern Orthodox girl. After her marriage, idealism brings her and her husband to Israel where they begin to build a family. Spiritual searchers, the couple falls prey to a cult. Over a period of six years, Racheli and her husband lose the ability to make their own decisions and protect their children. The couple divorce at the insistence of the cult leader and Racheli marries him. After the children are horribly abused, Racheli is arrested and receives a five-year prison sentence. Only after 18 months in prison is Racheli able to begin to see what went wrong. From here, her healing begins. Upon her release Racheli marries a prisoner who still has 10 years in prison. With his help, she is able to rebuild herself into a vivacious, mentally and emotionally healthy woman who is able to live with the irreversible consequences of her mistakes and nourish the children she is still in contact with.
The book was written to give hope to anyone who feels that they have fallen to a place they can’t ever escape from. It shows that you can rebuild yourself and fashion a core of inner strength that will make you into a person you never dreamed you’d be.
It shows the mechanism behind how terrible things can happen. This brings understanding to anyone living in an ongoing abusive situation. Finally, it encourages readers to give a second chance to those who have fallen.
