Cliff and Liz

Description

Cliff Miglioretti hasn't had an easy life. In fact, much of it has been an obscene nightmare. As a very young child, he was exposed to traumas that would have broken most adults, first as he watched his drug-using father abuse his eleven-year-old sister in ways he could not understand. A few months later, that sister was cruelly taken from life, and finally, in self-pity or perhaps guilt, Cliff's father committed suicide as well. And there are more unspeakable secrets from his teen years that no other living soul knows about. Now in college, Cliff is a shell of despair, addicted to self-harm and consumed with self-blame. Wretchedly depressed, bitterly cynical, and unable to interact positively with peers, he has never had a single friend in his life. Until now. Liz Butler is unlike anyone Cliff has met. Outgoing, always positive, and beautiful in more ways than Cliff can believe, she attaches herself to him after he impulsively stands up to a bully on her behalf at school. Soon her smiles and uplifting attitude begin to reach him, and Cliff becomes part of Liz's fiercely tight family circle, which includes her brother Jim and sister-in-law Beth. Incredibly, Liz's love begins to heal him. But the road to recovery is not a short one for someone so deeply tormented. And in the end, Cliff finds he must fight one more horrible battle, and learn the true meanings of love and forgiveness, in order to attain true personal redemption.