I am not a parent, but after reading the first 100 pages of Concetta Falcone-Codding’s book “The Lonely Nest,” I want to swoop first grader Connie Mary into my arms and protect her from a wicked world.

In the early chapters, Connie Mary exposes the thoughts of a first grader as she endures the hardship of witnessing abuse by her father and by a teacher at Fields Memorial School They punish her relentlessly over an undiagnosed learning disorder called dyslexia, which was largely misunderstood during the 1950s when Falcone-Codding grew up.

Falcone-Codding is a retired teacher at the high school level, but continues helping disabled students to read and write part-time. She has maintained a column for The Bulletin for over a decade.

Falcone-Codding’s first book, “The Lonely Nest,” is in a second edition. The novel reveals the reality of domestic abuse that takes place in the home of an upstanding family.

The author chose as a title “The Lonely Nest,” which refers to a sacred place inside us that holds our secrets, joys and sorrows. In the lonely nest lives Connie Mary’s older sister Janice, a gifted student and the victim of the brunt of their father’s abuse. Connie Mary’s mother, Rose, is Italian like her husband and at one point solicits help from a Norwich psychiatrist who eventually includes Janice in their sessions.

When the courageous Janice confides to her mom in eighth grade that she has endured sexual abuse by her father, her mother is afraid and chooses not to act, rendering her daughter helpless. Her mother’s fear is that if she exposes her husband’s crime, she will be committed to Norwich State Hospital.

This is not so far-fetched, as both mother and daughter are committed to the hospital in the coming chapters.

The book includes four chapters about Norwich Free Academy and honors English teacher Alan K. Driscoll, who served as a beacon of hope for Connie and many other students.

The last three chapters reveal the consequences of remaining silent. After years of sexual and physical abuse the beautiful Janice dies at age 41 with very few knowing the truth of how she died.

The mendacious and disturbed husband and dad also manages to torment and eventually shorten Rose Falcone’s life, who, after 50 years of marriage, is beaten and abused.

On numerous occasions, Rose Falcone would lie to the police and defend her husband, denying the abuse. This book warns of the deadly consequences of being loyal to an abuser and is a beacon of warning to others. It also speaks of miracles and the power of Christ.

It is estimated that more than 10 million people experience domestic violence in the U.S. each year. One in three women and one in four men will experience rape or violence in their lifetimes.

By writing “The Lonely Nest,” Falcone-Codding displays inscrutable courage and resolution, a voice for the battered, helpless and innocent. She gives other abuse victims permission to reveal their stories, shamelessly and triumphantly.

Falcone-Codding confesses that she still experiences PTSD and rage. She has forgiven her father, or at least seeks to leave him in peace, so she may have the strength to help others. She believes if we repeat the same actions of our abuser, we do not stop generational abuse.

Falcone-Codding is working on a second novel, a paranormal journey which takes place in Norwich and has all the familiar settings of the town from the 1960s. The story begins with deception and ends with two cousins finding love and redemption.

Her first novel took Concetta 10 years to complete. Her second book is a work of fiction based on real experiences.

Concetta has been married for 44 years and has two children, Concetta Rose Codding, 31, and Cathleen Codding Frederick, who is 30. She grew up in Norwich and graduated from the Norwich Free Academy in 1971. She considers her years at NFA some of the happiest days of her life.

Lisa Shasha lives in Norwich.