Rachel Smyer

Preferred Isolation Rachel Smyer

Twenty-one year old Luke spends his days desperately trying to escape the chokehold bestowed upon him by the one man who was supposed to be programmed to love him. Luke Joyner spent eleven years of his life, age five to age sixteen, being horribly abused by his father. The only reason the abuse stopped by the eleventh year is because Mr. Joyner got caught. By the time anyone had even thought about acting on what they had seen or heard, Luke was gone. Life may have gone on since he left town five years ago, but since coming back, Luke is continuing to live in the past. And unfortunately for him, he has a welcoming party. Having been so used to living in isolation, Luke grew comfortable with it and far less paranoid about who would be waiting for him around the corner. Now he has to decide whether or not he wants to make the tough decisions when it comes to dealing with his daily struggles. Within the next few years, he learns to accept himself, invite family members back into his life, truly open up about his past, overcome fears, trust God's plan for his life, and love.