By Tamara Belinc

Special to the ‘Times’

K.F. Stewart of Beech Grove has recently published “Twenty-One-Gun Salute: Memoirs of Innocence Lost — Freedom Found,” her own unique personal story of tragedy turned to triumph, which happens when Stewart becomes a Christian.

"As a child, I was molested by a close family member, while enduring a painful disability," she said.

Although her memoir shares the tale of horrible events, she uses tasteful language and leaves out the lurid details. Even with these details gone, the reader can still feel the terror Ms. Stewart felt as a child at the hands of relatives and strangers.

Twenty-One-Gun Salute offers insight into a terrified and confused very young child’s mind, who is first abused by a step-grandfather.

During her early childhood, Ms. Stewart endured many surgeries, the first coming at six months of age. She had a tumor on her wrist, which was removed, but doctors left the underlying root. This became a massive vascular tumor. It grew and spread through most of her forearm and hand.

She believes this tumor and the need for surgeries may have lead to her becoming abused.

In her book she says that she believes her abuser thought she might be mentally handicapped as well as physically handicapped and thought she would never tell.

Her parents divorced when she was quite young, and she and her siblings were shuffled around frequently. At one time, she lived with her grandmother and step-grandfather, and the abuse began there.

In chapter three, when the story of abuse begins, Ms. Stewart’s imagery creates a terrifying story that leaves chills. Some of the abuse happens in the basement of her step-grandfather’s house, and her words evoke the smell of a damp, musty place in the mind. Her words show the striped suspenders he wears, the sound of his breathing.

Ms. Stewart does not need to spell out exactly what happened to her. She places the reader where she stood many years ago.

As the years passed, Ms. Stewart grew to hate and fear her abuser. The fear is evident in the pages.

In the days Ms. Stewart grew up in, children were given free reign to roam neighborhoods without the fears parents have today. She says God protected her during this time, because she knows predators stalked even then.

When she was a very little child, one man exposed himself to her, but no one believed her when she told. Another time, she was attacked while playing with her older sister, but even then, no one believed her.

Her fear in these situations is again evident, and she vividly paints the picture of a terrified child.

This step-by-step account of abuse as a child is extremely well-written and thought out and chills the reader with the idea that any child would have to go through the things she endured.

At nine, Ms. Stewart stood up to her "primary predator," as she calls him throughout the book. She says she finally felt free.

Through her words, a sense of freedom washes over the reader, making us share exactly what she felt.

She shares good childhood memories of a loving father and kind step-father.

Her mother and kind step-father eventually divorced, and a new "step-father" came into the picture. At first, she thought he was nice and kind, but when she was 16, he woke her during the night to attack her. She fought him off and told her mother, who was furious with the "step-father."

Again, the reader is let into Ms. Stewart’s life through her imagery and words. We can feel her terror, the fear she feels at telling her mother and seeing the annoyed look on her mother’s face. Her words put images into our minds.

Eventually, Ms. Stewart ran away from home. She became involved with the “wrong crowd.” She was raped by a young boyfriend and later raped by a drunken intruder while visiting a female companion at her apartment.

She tells her story of being promiscuous without giving the lurid details. The reader doesn’t need to know the details. They are felt through the words she writes.

During this time, she had a child and would later become involved with drugs.

She tells of three events which had a profound effect on her life. The book chronicles these events, which include two scares involving her young son.

After these incidents, she tried very hard to get out of the wrong crowd. She broke off from her companion, who took everything she owned, including photographs of her son. She went to stay with her mother for one night.

Eventually, Ms. Stewart and her son moved in with an aunt and uncle. While residing there, she writes she had a spiritual experience. She calls it "The Awakening."

She begged God to let her know He was there. Her despair becomes the reader’s despair. Her tears become the reader’s tears.

She writes, "Immediately following this heart cry and after half the night of weeping, a feeling of complete peace came over me suddenly, a peace I had never known. I sincerely cried out to God with my whole heart…"

She says that not long after this, she felt someone or something was in the room with her. She saw a being who told her not to be afraid. He said these words to her, "Fear not, for I am with thee. I will be with thee always, even to the end of the world." The being then vanished.

She became a born-again Christian and worked very hard to turn her life around.

This book is perfect for anyone who has suffered tragedy in their life and is looking for something to lift them up. This book is a wonderful story of being saved after being lost for so long.

"I give you my story as tastefully and conscientiously as possible. Writing this memoir has not been an easy task, but has brought about a deep healing in my life," she said.

Her memoirs include a testimony of how a healing peace came into her life upon receiving Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.

Since revealing her own tragic experiences, Ms. Stewart states, "I have come across many others with haunting memories of this type of abuse, who are in need of healing."

About four years ago, Ms. Stewart wrote a children’s safety adventure story, submitted it to a few publishers as well as a literary agency and was repeatedly asked for her personal story.

"It seemed I wasn’t getting anywhere with trying to get my children’s book published without sharing my personal story," she said. "I sat down with weeping. This was the commencement of “Twenty-One-Gun Salute.”

Her hope is that her story will open the hearts and minds of others in her community, to the fact that, "Our children are our greatest treasures, therefore our greatest concern should be to protect them, whatever the cost."

A portion of royalty is going to help the Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center.

“Twenty-One-Gun Salute: Memoirs of Innocence Lost—Freedom Found,” by K.F. Stewart is available now to order at the Manchester Christian book store, My Secret Place, or through any bookstore, ISBN# 1-4137-6226-3 or on-line at www.publishamerica.com/books/8143 , www.Amazon.com  or www.barnesandnoble.com. My Secret Place has also agreed to shelve the book.

K.F.Stewart is also the author of “The Magical Dolphins on Personal Safety,” a child’s adventure-story that teaches lessons on being safe around strangers and personal body safety, being illustrated by Sam Davis, an eighth grader at Coffee County Middle School, soon to be published by www.raphapublishing.com , founders of For The Kidz.

For the Kids is an advocate against child abuse organization. Stewart is hoping to donate half of the royalties from her children’s book to the group.

She has also recently created a child’s coloring book that teaches safety lessons, in a fun yet non-threatening manner, “Lennie the Lion Knows all About Personal Safety,” which can be purchased through this same publishing company.

Ms. Stewart will be the featured guest of talk show host, Jason Maxwell, on WZYX Radio, 1440 AM Stereo June 8 for a round table discussion on the issue of child abuse.

Author's Note: The Magical Dolphins Safety Adventure is not yet published. We are looking for a publisher at this time.

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