Foreword
There are many practical reasons for discouraging incest in the world today. It is not just a willful moral issue, and yet incest exists and propagates itself in modern American society just as it does throughout the world.
There are two sides to incest. Dynasties are founded on it throughout history. The modern nobility of Europe is a direct result of deliberate inter-family mating contrived to keep power in the hands of a few. In the United States, the so-called "400" who dominate social and monetary aspects are a lesson in the practical application of cousin married to cousin, relative wedded to relative, in conjugal relationships.
But incest can and does occur anywhere, at any time. The reason that prevails seems to be proximity and compatibility. Members of the same family frequently find themselves together in times of sexual stress. And if the conditions are favorable, it is easy to enter into carnal incest.
Such is the case with the fictional characters in this realistic novel.
Brenda is a lovely girl who is trapped by this familiarity. Her brother initiates her into the rites of sex solely because they are together at the wrong time in the wrong place. That is the spark that can never go out once it is lit.
When sex subsequently fails for the fast-developing girl, she has no defense against the same villain which dragged her down once-proximity.
This is not to say that this is a story solely about a young woman's conjugal adventures with her younger nephew. What is illustrated here is the vulnerability of the average American woman to a situation that could all too easily fall on the shoulders of any woman.
Society has had a hard time adjusting to the fact that sex, like the rising sap in springtime, is the strongest motivating emotion among young men and women blooming into mature adults. Frequently that sex drive is misdirected, because the individual cannot meet the problem head-on.
Could it be said that Brenda's final solution is a happy one?
When you read this exciting and realistic novel, ask yourself that question. And ask yourself how different things would have been for Brenda if she had been raised with a candid attitude towards sexuality-one which would have been directed towards healthier pursuits rather than one warped by concealed guilt.
The cure for society's ills, according to social scientists, lies in candor, education and free choice. A healthy society is one that educates its population rather than cloaking it in secrecy and guilt, one that teaches its people to make decisions on their own, and then trusts the intelligence of its citizens to act wisely.
Burying the subject of incest will never eradicate this practice. It will only serve to engender the problem.
-The Publisher