Clothes don't make the man. An abusive person could be just about anyone. To outsiders they often appear quite charming; that is until you become the target of their aggressiveness and the object of their obsession. Vanessa Beacon/Emma Wright has to make a life altering decision, a decision that will not only determine her future but that of her son Dominick/Max. Leaving the comfort of her home, or more accurately -- escaping, is even more difficult taking due to the fact that Max has juvenile, insulin dependent, diabetes. Without the help of a few treasured household staff members there would be no way to leave. Emma's demon is real; it's her son's father Manuel Rodriguez.

Preston Holman's demon is psychological but just as life altering. He can't recover from watching his young son die as a result of what he believes was a physician's ineptitude. He has spent the last year looking for revenge in the form of garnering a case against the doctor who treated his son. Both Emma and Preston have put their lives on hold, and at risk, to accomplish their goals. The first lucky break Emma gets is meeting up with Preston but building up trust proves to be challenging on both their parts. Preston is determined to stay detached sparing himself from further emotional pain. Emma bites back any sense of pride in order to secure a means to distance both herself and Max from Manuel who is doggedly following her from state to state. All three are running for their lives in a seemingly doomed race for freedom.

EVERY WAKING MOMENT, by Brenda Novak, keeps you on your toes from start to finish. It might even have you looking over your shoulder to make sure no one is following. The story will make you appreciate having a normal and safe family life and at the same time give you a rather realistic glimpse into an abusive one. Obsession is a disease and Novak treats it graphically and factually while drawing you into the characters affected by it. As the title suggests, being chased by an obsessive life partner has you in peril and running every waking moment. As the reader watches the lead characters struggle with escaping the ruins of their past lives you have to credit Novak with keeping the characters and their personal struggles constant and real. There were no easy solutions to their problems and the writer didn't insult her readers with any. As in real life people make difficult, often life altering decisions, and in EVERY WAKING MOMENT, Novak realistically orchestrates a flight for freedom.