In Her Presence: A Husband's Dirty Secret

by Nancy Weaver

Dedicated to mothers, daughters and sons whose lives have been shattered by the man you most loved and trusted. Like the Potter with the clay, your life can be made whole again.



The true story: The surreal, gripping saga of a young, desperate, rich African American mother and her children, and her courageous teenage daughter in the south in the 1950s is inspired by real life events.

Maebelle Hawkins, a young, pretty divorcee, moves to Derriene Crossing with her heart set on finding the perfect husband. When Rufus Poygoode, a well-to-do-, good-looking farmer enraptures her heart with a proposal of marriage, she feels her life has come full circle.

But it is a marriage awash in deception. A few weeks after their union, her fantasy word crashes and burns. She shivers when Rufus Poygoode places the cold black metal gun against her nose and calls her Olga Berry, the name of his surrogate mother, for whom he carries a vendetta. No amount of defense convinces him she is not the estranged daughter of his surrogate mother. Crushed by cruel and unusual hatred, Maebelle Hawkins resigns herself to a mere state of simply existing. Then their daughter Tara Poygoode grows up.

Tara Poygoode is pleased that she has her mother and father's good looks. But she hates him for the humiliation, cruelty, and power he wields over her large family. When she learns her father won't allow her to attend college, that he is intent on tying her life to the land forever, she vows to take control over her destiny, and rescue her family.

Genres: Chick Lit, Abuse

310 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Nancy Weaver grew up in a small town in Mississippi. In the third grade she became close friends with a girl her age, a girl whose life in later years would inspire Nancy Weaver’s writing of In Her Presence: A Husband’s Dirty Secret. At age eighteen, Nancy Weaver left the south and moved to New York City where she spent most of her adult life. She was graduated from NYS Empire College. Still haunted by the stories of her close friend’s childhood, Nancy Weaver decided it was time to put her friends story in print for all the educators who had been aware of her friend’s plight and had remained silent, to now read about it. Nancy Weaver took a writing course with Reader’s Digest School for Writers. Soon thereafter she founded her own publishing company Time and Chance Publishing and published In Her Presence: A Husband’s Dirty Secret. In the same year she received the Blackrefer.com Reader’s Choice annual award for her book. The milestone achievement for Nancy Weaver inspired her to publisher her second novel Gaming for Love. Upon retiring from a 30-year career in city government, Nancy Weaver relocated to a quiet community in Anderson County, South Carolina with her husband. It’s sort of like sliding back in time a little bit in terms of serene, spacious living, as they reside on five rolling acres surrounded mostly by pines and oak trees. She is currently working on her third novel.

Reviews

[Arlena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: In Her Presence: A Husband's Dirty Secrets
Author: Nancy Weaver
Publisher: Time and Chance Publishing
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"In Her Presence: A Husband's Dirty Secrets" by Nancy Weaver

Now....this was is supposed to be a true story...based on someone that this author knew...leaving me to say oh my God...really?! As I read through this novel I could only shake my head not even imagining knowing that this did really happen?! This was a very disturbing read for me but I made it through still left with many thoughts left after this story that this author has presented to the reader being so full of 'lies, deceit, betrayal, family secrets and incest.' I will say this read tops all of the reads that I have done over the years and to think that this really did happened. I know I am still trying to deal with that one! This is one heartbreaking novel of several generations of abuse.

What I found hard to believe was that a mother would permit this to happen to her own children and where was everyone ....when it was out that all knew what was going on in the dysfunctional abusive family that had gone on for many generations?! Why didn't someone help? I will say this author really keeps your attention because there will be so much going on where you will feel the intensed emotional pain through this read.

The two main characters...Maebelle Hawkins and Rufus Poygoode...well, I think they were made for each other in some sort of sick way...[but those poor kid did not have too endure this abuse] and that will be all I have to say about that. You will just have to pick up this novel to get this story for yourself. It will definitely not be a easy read...at least it wasn't for me.

Will this family be able to come out of all this hardships? ...Well, again you will have to pick up the novel to see what happens next to Maebelle, Rufus and the children? It will be one interesting ending that the readers will not want to miss. Since this author is planning on a part two of this story I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens next.

Thank you to the author for sending me your novel. Indeed, I will say was a emotional read that left me in awe of it all and I will be waiting on the next part of this read.

[Jennifer Kirkwood (Levac) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Find the original review and more at genuinejenn.com

This story is not for the light/faint hearted. Understand it is a story of incest and rape, many times. It will sicken you and make you extremely upset and angry. This is one of those books where it is really hard to like the main characters until Tara comes along. Maebelle and Rufus are nasty characters especially Rufus as he is the "stepfather/husband/daddy" in the novel. It is one twisted story and I will try not to give much away in my review. Maebelle wants to be with Rufus as he has land and money and could easily take care of her and her children. Maebelle doesn't care that Rufus has a wife and will do anything she needs to to get into his house. Without listening to warns from her friends Maebelle helps to break up Rufus' marriage and moves into the house with her four girls. Rufus just wants revenge on Maebelle as he feels she is related to his aunt. He starts raping the girls and making sure they have babies to help him on the farm.

The whole story is about Maebelle's selfish decisions and Rufus' nasty incest and revenge, until Tara one of their daughters grows up and vows to get everyone out of the hell that they are living in. Rufus is a dirty dog. I would be lying if I said I didn't throw down the book at one point and curse the dirty SOB, my husband then needed to be filled in on the story to understand why I was so mad at the characters.

There are some editing errors in this novel but it didn't take away from the story. What I did find hard was at the beginning learning who was who and what their skin colour was. I also found there are a few spots that seem to jump in time, not sure if that was meant to be like that or it was an error not caught.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

[Nette Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

But never married her.....

Oh My God!!!!! Like this one hurt but I had to finish. Like I needed to kno all he did and what the end was gonna be. Could not predict half the crazy mess in this read. But it was good.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given To Me For An Honest Review

In Her Presence: A Husband's Dirty Secret ... Nancy Weaver is a real must read. Make sure you have your seatbelt on, hold on tight because you're going on one horrible ride of your life. Once you open the book, it will grab you, hold you down and you'll watch those pages turn and turn and turn some more until you reach the last page. You'll sit for a moment to wonder if what you read is what your read and you'll fine yourself reading it again. You're about to learn the real meaning of dysfunction ---lies, deceit, betrayal, many family secrets, incest and more. This book is inspired by actual events in one family. It makes one wonder, did the family survive? Did the abuse and cruel treatment ever end? The incest -- did it stop? This is a deep must read. As you read you find yourself being drawn in and becoming a part of the story. Keep tissue by -- you just may need it. I thank Nancy Weaver for sharing this story -- it makes understanding those who have gone through abuse and worse a bit better and not look at them as though it was their fault. I gave this book 5 stars but it really deserves many more. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I look for more from Nancy Weaver because she sure hit it out of the ballpark with this one.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

***I received this book in exchange for an honest review***

This book was something else!! I wasn't expecting it to go as far left as it did and for as long as it did. Rufus was by far the most hated character in the book with Maebelle being a very close second. My favorite character was Tara. Everyone was a saint compared to Rufus pretty much. I'm sure the things described in the story happened back in the day and sadly probably happen today as well. I can only pray they don't happen to the extent of how they were described in this book. If you have a weak stomach for matters involving rape, incest and child (sexual) abuse I would not advise you to read this. If you can handle it, this book will definitely test your emotions. Although disturbing, the story was well written and held my attention. I would have liked to hear an update on Maebelle's sons and ex and also Leslie. But other than that and my feelings towards my loathed characters (and a little frustration at the lack of help from others) I felt this was a solid read. I definitely plan to read more by Ms. Weaver.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and hope there is a sequel. I want to know what happened to the family that escaped from the farm and Rufus. Made belle and all her children ( girls & boys) went pure hell on earth with Rufus. There was lying, physical & emotional beatings and rape of the boys and girls. His own daughters, sons, & grandchildren. Made belle was warned not to get involved with him. He was so "no good". He was the worst I have ever read about or heard about. This is a must read if you have not read this book. I was sickened by Rufus and Maebelle, although she was a victim herself. It's true, everything that glitters ain't gold!!!!

[Shellie Dyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disturbing

Failed to grab my attention during the first two chapters. Slow moving start. Plot was disturbing to say the least. Other poor reviews sparked my curiosity of the content and mindset of this author. At times it's too much and is just not believable. I won't be reading any further by this author. You don't fast forward in time within the same chapter or move into a seasonal time period within the same chapter.

[Marie Mendez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real Dirty Secret

This has an interesting story line, that will take you through a range of emotions. My only critic is that it could have been edited better - paragraphs, separating the change in the direction of the story. However, its still worth reading.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is WOW

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up]

Unable to read due to format issues.

I did contact the Author so awaiting a reply.

Other reviewers read in audio format.

Review updating when sorted

[Dyani Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read the title I didn't really know what to expect but once I started reading I was not prepared for what was to come. This book is not for the faint at heart.