Five Days in October

Five Days in October is the story of thirteen-year-old Abigail Morgan, who has finally reached the point in her life where she will no longer tolerate her father's sexual abuse. Her decision to leave home results in a journey fraught with unexpected twists and turns, most of which result from her father's power and influence as the county's circuit court judge. Judge Jonathan Morgan, a third-generation politician, has high political aspirations and wants Abi back home in his control before this becomes public knowledge and ruins his political future. Abi's mother, Rebecca, has been a lush for years. Shaken from her alcoholic doldrums by Abi's revelation, Rebecca embarks on her own journey in an attempt to become the mother Abi needs. Abi and her mother travel their journeys simultaneously in hopes of being reunited and for the justice that always seems to elude them. Judson B. Emens was born and raised in Tuscumbia, Alabama. He graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1971, majoring in History and Sociology. Shortly thereafter, Judson began his career at the Alabama Department of Human Resources where he spent the next thirty-three years. For twenty-nine of those years, he was the Child Welfare Supervisor, concentrating his efforts in the areas of Child Abuse/Neglect, Foster Care, Protective Services and Adoption. Throughout his life, Judson has seen, first-hand, how tough life can be for a child growing up in a dysfunctional family. In Five Days in October, his first novel, Judson has relied on his personal experience to create this fascinating and overwhelming story. This novel quickly captures the reader in a compelling drama of a teenaged girl trapped in a web of political ambition, power, corruption and abuse.