Sweet Jesus! The characters in Illegal are full of personality, daring, and adventure. Illegal is a fun read, while highlighting the troubled life on the border. ~ E. M. Duesel

Where do we begin? Are we just a wisp of energy thrown into a world and expected to find our own way, or do we have guidance? If we believe that we are made in the image of a Creator, we must realize the entity is some form of energy. Our paths are sacred to the world around us and to ourselves. We should walk them in positivity. ~ E. M. Duesel

We mold our children from the moment they enter our lives. It is the way we hold them, touch them, talk to them that shapes and develops their brains and their self image. Planting fear as a deterent to unacceptable behavior backfires. Rather reason the problem out and then go forward together to correct it. That is respect. That is love. That is discipline. ~ E. M. Duesel

“According to Missed Opportunities: Youth Homelessness in America, around one in 10 young adults ages 18 to 25 and at least one in 30 youth ages 13 to 17 experienced unaccompanied homelessness within a 12-month period. This equates to an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults in the U.S.”

Family and Youth Services Bureau, 2019.

Although the book ILLEGAL was written in 2012 covering research conducted about incidents in the early 2000’s and published in 2017, the horrors of kidnapping still await girls and women who either live in Mexico or are visiting from the U.S. Now, migrants of either sex and various ages are also kidnapped for the purpose of human trafficking. If you are curious, here is a link from a news story from 2021. https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/public-safety/women-likely-kidnapped-in-mexico/273-b23d662e-507f-41e2-8b95-dcab51585506

Evil lives in people and places we may never suspect and it infects the world a little at a time. Staying true to our purpose purifies our own energy. When our energy is affected by a certain atmosphere, environment or the shaded power of another that redirects our path, it is wise to remove ourselves from its presence.

E. M. Duesel

An imbalance of power in any organization relies on integrity and oversight which can be absent in religious groups. Those in power are mistakenly revered and left on their own to act. ~ E. M. Duesel

Deceit in a family causes lifetime emotional wounds. Some don’t appear until later in life, but they are just as painful and disruptive as if they were new. ~ E. M. Duesel

The following numbers are based on data gathered probably from 2017 and published by HUD in 2018. It is my belief that the number is even greater due to the means by which HUD data is collected based on the Point in Time Survey. 1 in every 588 Americans is homeless. 194,467 people will sleep on the street across the USA tonight (HUD 2018).The ten states with the highest homeless rates account for 55% of the homeless population – CA, NY, FL, TX, WA, MA, OR, PA, IL, CO. 18% are chronically homeless (HUD 2018). 7% are unaccompanied youth under 25 (HUD 2018). 7% are veterans (HUD 2018).