LONGWOOD, FL-Twelve-year old Fred Holbrook heard the screams coming from his mother as she endured another beating by Woody, his abusive stepfather. He grew enraged when he saw her fall into a huge briar patch and scream out for Jesus' help while Woody's foot pummeled her. He ran into the house, quickly loaded the rifle, and aimed it straight between Woody's eyes before pulling the trigger. Daddy, Your Shoes Didn't Fit My Feet (paperback, 978-1-60034-885-3; hardcover, 978-1-60034-886-0) is the true-life story of the Holbrook family, whose eight young children were victims of violent physical and sexual abuse.
Says Holbrook, "This is the story of my family and having to grow up in a home where there was physical and sexual abuse, abandonment and rejection, yet turning out to be a man not full of hate and bitterness, not turning to crime and blaming society for my upbringing, but [being] a man who turned to God to heal the hurt in my heart." Growing up in the hills of Kentucky under the roof of an abusive stepfather and an emotionally distant mother, the Holbrook children depended on each other for survival. Despite the situation, it nurtured closeness among the siblings, who not only survived but also learned compassion for other abused and mistreated children.
Now a father, husband, and leader in both the community and the church, Fred Holbrook hopes to encourage others in similar situations. By turning to God and letting Him work things out in his life, Holbrook was taken care of. He and his wife, Lynn, have been married 51 years and have four children. After leaving Kentucky at the age of 16, he went to California where he started working as a lumberjack. He later migrated to Washington State where he spent most of his life in the outdoors as a logger and land developer. He now resides in Sun City West, Arizona, where he paints and writes.
Xulon Press, a part of Salem Communications Corporation, is the world's largest Christian publisher, with more than 3,900 titles published to date. Retailers may order Daddy, Your Shoes Didn't Fit My Feet through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors. Salem Communications is the country's leading Christian communications company with interests in radio, Internet, and magazine publishing.
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2007