Deborah Barclay

Memories of Sad Brown Eyes Deborah Barclay

A compelling story told through the eyes of a child, whisked away to a foreign country at a young age so her mother could escape being stalked and also mentally and physically abused by a colleague her mother had worked with in the Governors Office in Florida. A story of her mother finding her one and only true love, only to be murdered mysteriously and made to look like an accident. Savanna recounts her childhood memories growing up in Italy, the prejudicial attitude reflected toward Americans during the post World War II era, everyday life growing up around the Vatican, and interacting with the clergy where her mother worked in the diplomatic core. Barely escaping her stalker on a chance encounter in Rome, her mother seeks the security in the arms of yet another wrong man she met in Italy who would also abuse and emotionally torture her, threatening Savanna's life and disappearance until she eventually married him, and he would bring her and Savanna back to the States. Once home, Savanna would watch her mother wither away and die of breast cancer while her step-father stood by emotionless. As a young adult, Savanna is determined to seek revenge against the man that caused them to flee the country. She has a passion to model and due to her looks, she was able to quickly fit in and meet many influential people that would allow her to gain insider information from the political "who's who" to gain an edge on her mother's stalker. The story, as seen through a child robbed emotionally for many years of a normal childhood, reverting to practices learned growing up in an environment of lying and deceit. Savanna sets her sights on revenge and pulls off the ultimate scam against her foe where others had tried and not succeeded. All too late she realizes revenge only belongs to God. Savanna travels back to her roots as a midlife adult to meet all the members of her extended family on her father's side that thought she had