by Gary Sacco

Created on: April 05, 2009

"When The Trust Is Broken" is Rochesterian Sharon Grace's first crack at writing. I've been friends with Grace for over a decade and expressed gratitude when she handed me the manuscript months ago, asking me to evaluate it. It is perfectly justified to wonder if my objectivity, as a reviewer, has been compromised. I'm asking the reader to trust me. While the book, early on, is in danger of become a mini character sketch of Grace, the story is powerfully personal, agonizing and ultimately positive. Grace is very open about the ordeal her granddaughter "Chloe" experienced at the hands of a child molester, ironically her best friend's father, at a local daycare center. I feel that every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or individual that cares about society, should take an hour and read this succinct, gripping narrative.

Readers anxious to learn about what actually happened to "Chloe" might immediately wonder why Grace feeds them so much autobiographical information about her life. She speed winds the clock back decades, reflecting on her teenage years, marrying young, having kids and one, then two, failed marriages. Some will emphatically criticize these passages as self-indulgence. They may wonder what her house burning down and eventual career successes have to do with "Chloe's" story.

Grace projects a resilient image of herself. Her purpose wasn't to boast or gloat. Grace expressed to readers that she's been through various personal, some self instigated, battles and prevailed. Grace's salvation was a pit bull like commitment, and love for, her children. She persevered, as a single mother, raising three wonderful kids. The author is not interested in trumpeting her later life successes in marriage and career. She used this material as a backdrop to emphasize two overriding points. First, none of her struggles or triumphs could prepare her for the magnitude of this heinous crime, against one of society's most vulnerable members. Secondly, she blamed herself failing to protect her own flesh and blood. "It took me a year and a half to convince my daughter to move back to New York for the grandchildren's sake. We wanted to protect them and keep them safe," Grace wrote. Grandma's secure cocoon would tragically be shattered, in the darkest corners, of that daycare center.

Grace emotionally describes the moment that "Chloe" identified the "bad man" during a newscast. The family quickly realized that she was another of Michael Bennett's victims. Grace paints a very

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