Behind the Masks

This book tells the story of my family, my life in relationship to them, and later my own life, beginning thirty years before my birth, ending seventy-one years after. But it’s hardly a standard life story; my particular path in life simply doesn’t lend itself to the customary outlay of facts, dates and events. It is definitely not a story for the queasy or prudish reader, as it is very graphic, and contains violence, brutality, cruelty, murder, sex and foul language. Common – and not so common – details pertinent to my life and t o my sense of who I was, were hidden from me, then revealed only eventually, in haphazard and thoughtless ways years after I’d settled into the falsehoods. None of the stories I have written in “Behind the Masks” were obtained from anyone outside of my family; it was a frustrating task getting hold of many of these stories, and more so the details. Memories age, fade and are sometimes disputed with surprising vigour; however all the events are factual to the best of my knowledge. There were numerous times my emotions got the better of me, reliving periods of my past. I spent countless hours researching data as well as trying to express myself clearly enough, enabling my readers to understand my feelings, my thinking, and perhaps even some of my bizarre and strange actions. Had I been aware of many things during my youth, and perhaps not subjected to so many horrific events and beatings, aspects of my life would certainly have had a far different outcome. I hope you enjoy reading about the journey of my life as much as I have disliked living most of it, and definitely writing about it. I further hope my ultimate discovery about myself is as dramatic for you as it was for me. The final climax being that I’m now at peace with the past and myself.: Robbie Daniels