The Haunting of the Owens Family
by Patricia A. Perry
Category: Fiction

The Haunting of the Owens Family follows the Owenses for approximately 1 year, from 1974 to 1975. From most outside appearances, the Owenses are a normal, middle-class family who live in a big house in a nice neighborhood. Both the parents and the children have their crosses to bear, some ordinary and of this world, and some not. In spite of this, they each seem able to get up in the morning and face, if not accept, what lies ahead. But, walking a rope such as this can be done for only so long. What is truly going on in that house would cause the strongest of spirits to turn away. This novel follows a family as it tries to survive domestic abuse. It depicts the effects of screaming and throwing and yelling and the use of words meant to kill. It shows what happens when there is an ongoing war in your home. The Owenses story illustrates that what you do in front of your children, you do to your children. And the consequences are much more deleterious than those not realizing, not meaning to harm, expect. Amidst the ugliness, however, there are also dreams, magic, and hope. And the presence of ghostly activity in the Owenses house causes the reader to question the true catalyst of what has found this family. Theres Meggie, the wife and mother, who has lived most of her life the way she has been expected to, not questioning, not rising up, just following her duty, knowing somewhere inside that she has a penance to pay. There are the children: Elizabeth, whose anger is making a slow burn through her skin, who is most likely the only one in this family who actually sees what is going on. Grace, whose visions and clear eyes lend a certain magic to an otherwise oftentimes hopeless world. Danny, the only boy, whose dedication to making things right, trying to place order back into a chaotic world, almost ruins him. And Annabelle, whose tiny body and youngest mind help her to hide, but also cause her never to be seen -- not when it counts. And, finally, theres Dan, the husband and father -- a kind, funny man at times -- he finds himself in a place he never intended, where rage and a sense of injustice start the quakes in his house, in his children. This novel is intended for adults and is not appropriate for children.