For readers of Damaged & Running with Scissors a chilling exploration of psychological control that ends with a glorious escape Maude still remembers the sound of the gate being locked behind her She was three years old when they moved into the secluded manor & she would only be allowed out again a handful of times Her parents belonged to a fanatical Masonic order who believed that it was their sacred duty to turn her into the ultimate survivor She followed a strict schedule of study hard labour & endless drills designed to eliminate weakness' such as holding an electric fence without flinching & sitting still in a rat-infested cellar But Maude's parents could not rule her inner life Befriending animals on the lonely estate & characters in the books she read Maude nurtured in herself the compassion & love her parents forbade