When the Smoke Clears

This book contains three separate stories each built on the need of psychiatric intervention to enable the protagonists return to an appropriate level of normality. The girl who wandered experiences traumatic family eventsevents that set Patty at odds with family values and family directives. Her wandering becomes illicit and dangerous to her well-being. An elderly couple reaches out to her and encourages her to seek care. Doctor Stephen Moke successfully intervenes and helps Patty develop an insightful view of her own life and realize that the desertions in her life were partly her own. The Woman Who Was Silent involves the murder of a neighbor-friend. After Susans arrest her refusal to respond to anyone including the judge required intervention. At the judges request Doctor Stephen Moke visited her in the jail. His gentle wise and compassionate interview becomes the heart of Susans story which is not revealed until her court trial following a year of psychiatric hospitalization. Doctor Mokes further questioning during her hospitalization fills in the blanks and completes his trial testimony revealing the strange story of her life and the reason for the murder. In The Woman Who Stood Tall a policeman gives a Native American woman an undeserved summons on his belief she stole from a grocery store. An appearance in court and possible jail time are of grave concern to Jalee and her husband. Her internist recommends they seek the intervention of Doctor Stephen Moke. Doctor Moke reviews the harsh racial prejudice in Jalees early life including the tragic death of her mother and older brother through the fault of two unremorseful Caucasians. Doctor Mokes letter to the court sets the stage for Mokes continuing care of Jalee. Native American beliefs especially regarding the Great Spirit enter and influence their ongoing therapeutic relationship.