title: Safe Harbor
author: Barclay, Robert O.
description: Safe Harbor
   is the story of Sam and his mother Sarah told against a backdrop of alcoholism and abuse.
  In the beginning we find out that Sam's father Robert has been missing for several days. Then we find out that his father is dead, killed in a stupid accident, drowned in six inches of water while on a drinking binge. From this point on we follow mother and son through the process of rebirth and redemption after years of abuse. When the story opens we have a fourteen year old who is just becoming immersed in the confusion of girls and adolescent relationships. He desperately wants to find out what love is, or what it's supposed to be, since he's never had any example in the home. And just to complicate matters further, a new girl moves into the house next to his aunts cottage on the beach. He is enamored, stricken with her perfect beauty and marvelous self-confidence. He wants to know her better, but he's petrified of her.
  At the same time, since there is no money, his mother Sarah is forced to go out and find a job. She meets a man, a widower a dozen years her senior, someone who is totally the opposite of her dead husband. He is smitten by her special spirit, admires her eagerness to learn, and her efforts to overcome an abusive past. Sarah loves his attention and marvels at the fact that this gentle man is interested in her, but she can't give herself permission to be happy. After all she's been told over and over again how worthless she is.