Two factors motivate this unusually inspiring novel based on the true life of Ann Deane Teal.  The first one being the desperation and despair that this ‘girl next door’ felt. The other is her need for survival.

          Devastating would describe most of the men in her life.  Her father and three husbands cause immense turmoil that is totally unbelievable for one person to endure.  Mental and physical abuse, murder and drug rings weave an intriguing tale.  After the murders of her two young children and the ensuing threats on her life by her psychopathic husband, she is placed in a ‘mini witness protection program’ where the FBI encourages her to buy a pistol and trains her to ‘shoot to kill.’

          Then, a miracle happened.  Ann Deane thought for the first time that she had died and gone to heaven.  She had never been happier in her life. God had certainly answered her prayers this time. Enter Charlie – who turned out to be the love of her life. But all good things come with baggage – his two grown children, Warren and Maria, who in the next twenty years never ceased to make her life miserable at times.  Thank God she had her daughter, Mary Kate, by her side.

          Two rare life-threatening brain surgeries are chief among her many never ending health problems.  Her unshakable faith in God and her sheer will in the face of adversity is the cornerstone of this book.  You share her heartaches, hopes, and her dreams as she struggles to overcome these obstacles.  This is probably the most inspirational story of the century and a must read for everyone.

     The following morning after the funeral, I was totally exhausted.  I felt as though I could sleep for a week.  It must have been around 10 a.m. and the doorbell rang.  "Mrs. Daniel, we'd like to speak with you and your husband.  May we come in?"  Two men in sheriff's uniforms were standing before me asking to come in.  What now.  Was someone's dog loose again?  We quickly found out it was no dog problem.  They came to take us down to headquarters in the questioning of our daughter's death.

   Carey and I were in the back seat of the sheriff's car and this was a totally new experience for me.  There was what looked like a 'sawed off' shotgun mounted in the middle of the front seat, and there was a mesh looking metal divider between them and us.  The men didn't talk to us at all, but Carey was talking non-stop to me.  After all that had happened in the last few days, I was completely amazed and numb.  The excitement of Brynda's birth, Mama and Mike's marriage, Brynda's shocking death...I had tried to be strong, but this was just about more than I could stand. I was totally numb. The tears rolled down my face and I didn't even have a purse with me. 

   "Ann Deane, listen to me.  We have to talk before we reach headquarters."  What was Carey talking about?  As far as I was concerned, there was nothing to say.  Besides that, I was scared to open my mouth, with the officers armed and that gun just a few feet away.  "Ann Deane, don't tell them you left the house when the baby died.  That wouldn't look good to say you had left the baby." 

& n b s p ; & n b s p ; & n b sp;       Kellee Stone is a native of Columbia, South Carolina.  She lived there till age 21, when she moved to Atlanta, G e orgia. As a child, she worked in her father’s many businesses and at 17 began working for the telephone company as a switchboard operator.  She worked for Southern Bell from 1960 – 1979 when she transferred to C & P of Virginia in Richmond, subsequently retiring in 1992.

& n b s p ; & n b s p ; & n b sp;       She is the mother of one daughter, Mary Kate, who lives in Charleston, S. C. with her husband and two cats.  Kellee also has two step-granddaughters.

& n b s p ; & n b s p ; & n b sp;        Kellee Stone enjoys traveling and frequently travels with her husband to their second home in Virginia, to Fort Lauderdale, Hilton Head, and Myrtle B e a c h < / s t 2 : p l a c e > < / st2:City>.

& n b s p ; & n b s p ; & n b sp;       Kellee loves her two cats: Cooper, a very sweet, large cat white with black spots and a big fluffy tail, and Elmo, an adorable twelve week old kitten also black and white.  Both of them like to help Mama write.

& n b s p ; & n b s p ; & n b sp;       In addition to traveling, she loves to read, cross-stitch, work crossword puzzles, and church activities.  Also, she has worked with estate jewelry, and serves on the board of directors for several a s s ociations.

& n b s p ; & n b s p ; & n b sp;       Kellee holds a Ph.D in Business Administration, and earned an Associate Degree in Christian Counseling.