Publisher's Synopsis
Follow this orphan through two orphanages in Pennsylvania from the age of 2 until the age of 14 when he runs away and lives on the streets of Philadelphia. A four year stint in the US Air Force is followed by a concurrent pursuit of education including law school while working as a conductor on the railroad and publishing a small town newspaper. Many relationships are attempted but none succeed. A despicable crime earns him a punishment of a 20 year sentence in Folsom State Prison in California. Considered the most violent US prison in the 80s, cunning, luck and mainly faith allow him to survive. Following an early release he spends almost twenty years as a public servant, using computer skills learned before leaving the prison system. The essence of this unbelievable autobiography is a quest to find the answers to two questions that haunt society and whose experts have been unable to answer. What is a cause and what is a cure for pedophilia? If those experts read this autobiography, they may find clues or answers to each question. The author discovers his answers by re-living his life through this writing. Because of the content of this unique book, there is a printed warning that must be read before reading this unique life story. This book is intended for open-minded adults, parents, teachers, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, law enforcement and justice officials, and perhaps Christians who might just want to read the mother of all testimonies. It is especially directed at those persons on the verge of committing the same crime for which Steve A. Mizera spent a frightening time in prison in the hope that they will not repeat his mistake and ruin their life, and create a victim whose life will also be ruined. At times this book is both funny and serious. The reader may cry or get angry. Whatever else it may be, it is also an education that may not be available anywhere else. Elizabeth McCrory wrote the introduction to this book in which she offers the reader plenty of reasons to read it: "Steve Mizera would not have chosen the childhood he was forced to endure. Nobody would. News reports pop up all the time about figures in positions of leadership using their superiority and power to abuse trusting young children. Boy Scout leaders, Catholic Priests, and even more recently, Penn State coaches have all been stigmatized for their role in the suffering of children under their watch. Unfortunately for Steve, the institution he lived in as a young boy included the stereotypical pedophiliac activity making headlines today. His journey starts in a very dark place, and brings the reader through his adolescence to his adulthood, including details of the horror he inflicted on victims of his own, eventually finding a new life in Christ, with a loving family that he had been robbed of as a boy. Along the way, the author describes his own theories and insights regarding the choices of those around him, as well as his own. When the opportunity arose for me to help proofread and edit his initial writings, I found myself intrigued, hoping his words will help reach others and possibly assist them to seek help and/or enlightenment of their own. As it is often said, if this book helps stop one child from being abused, or steers one offender toward rehabilitation, then his goal will have been fulfilled."
