"You've been accused of molesting three little girls"

I stopped breathing. I stared at him. It was such an unbelievable thing for him to say. I didn't know what to do."

Accused: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and the Strength to Forgive by Tonya Craft.

Tanya Craft was a teacher and an excellent one. She had wonderful friends and family and was deeply cared about in her community.

Then one day the doorbell rang.

Tanya was accused of molesting several children including her own daughter. She was indicted and charged and had a trial. She was found NOT GUILTY of all 2 2 charges. This is her story.

Reading this story was unbelievable. I felt so much. Anger at the justice system, fury at the people who were behind these false accusations and admiration and awe for Tanya Craft.

I had heard about this case but really did not know all that much about it. I do know that false accusations happen, probably more then many realize. My parents have both worked in the fields of psychology and social work. They have seen this. My dad is still a working psychologist and both he and my mom know all about false memories and how children can be "coached". That doesn't mean child abuse does not happen. It does and tragically it happens to frequently. But it did not happen in this case. Luckily, her jury saw through all the lies and false stories and acquitted her on all charges.

It was an honor to read her story and get to know Tanya through her words. She is quite a lady.

Rather then give up after these charges were filed against her..and after they had taken her children away and she'd lost her job and so much more..she decided to fight. Tanya fought these charges with everything in her, proving her innocence with the help of a feisty legal team whom I came to love. They are good people.

This is a long book that I flew through. It is hard not to be outraged by what happened to her. Outraged and frightened. It is hard not to want revenge.

The parts that hit me hardest were actually what happened to Tanya AFTER she was acquitted. Forgiveness is a huge theme here and the way she responded to her accusers speaks to a woman of not only high character but with a spiritual element to her. Tanya did something that I am not so sure I could do under those circumstances. She forgave.

This book will make you angry. It may make you cry. It will fill you with compassion. But most of all, it will make you believe. Not in badness and evil, but in goodness. In Heroes. In great friends and family who love and fight for someone they love with deep intensity. It will make you believe in the power of forgiveness and the power of God..or if you do not believe in God, that is fine too as it will make even the non believers feel that humanity and common decency are present if we look for them.

It is a moving, heart rending, deeply emotional read and I am so glad that Tanya is free and that she and her family and friends are happy.

Tanya has become a lawyer and now fights for people in the way her lawyers fought for her. This was an amazing book and one that I would wholeheartedly recommend. ( )

Read in one gulp

Tonya does not pull punches, not with the details of the graphic accusations, nor with her own weaknesses and mistakes. This blunt honesty makes her story most compelling and powerful. For people who watched Making a Murderer and thought, "Could small town social politics become so petty that such a conspiracy develops?" In Tonya's case, at least, the answer is yes, and she unflinchingly explains how. ( )