Youngest sister of three and older sister of one brother, author Sue Skilton Orrell felt her parents' admonition to "act mature" as a restraint against normal childhood feelings. She wished she could cry out like the Florida panthers that circulated on her family's rural property, but obeying the admonition prevented her from doing so. This default setting of denial intensified tragically within the more generalized culture of silence when she hit adolescence. When Orrell was raped twice as a young teenager, she found no immediate supporters--except herself. Orrell channeled her stubbornness into getting a good education, even though the academic challenge almost gave way to the weight of shame, depression, and false guilt. Now, she has taken on the strength of the panther with renewed spirit, bursting creativity, and power of voice clearly audible, no longer afraid to cry.

Cries of the Panther on Mockingbird Hill is for anyone affected by sexual abuse, either directly or indirectly. May the voice of all survivors of any type of abuse be heard by sympathetic ears, and may those who hear have courage to act.