ABOUT THE AUTHORS

     Lark Pogue and Drew Carpenter are brother and sister who are first-time authors. Missing Ingredients, while based loosely on their lives, is a work of fiction. Lark, age fifty-eight, is a Licensed Vocational Nurse. Drew, fifty-four, has been employed in the airline industry since 1987. Both live in small towns north of San Antonio, in the Texas hill country.

     While writing this novel, the story of a dysfunctional family, Lark and Drew realized that they had experienced the dysfunction and abuse in their own childhoods somewhat differently based on gender. They feel that exploring these differences gives the book a symmetry that is not found in similar works. There was, perhaps, an inevitable purging effect in the act of writing and the associated recollections of their childhoods. It was also inevitable that they would ask themselves how they had managed to survive and become functioning, if somewhat damaged, members of society. They quickly realized that most of that credit should go to their mother, who  possessed enough strength and love to carry them through. 

     Lark and Drew both hope that readers with similar experiences will understand that a life of self-destructive behavior can be avoided, but must first be acknowledged. While Missing Ingredients (again, a work of fiction) is mostly dark with an ending that could not be called happy, there is hope at the end of the story. The authors would like for everone who has experienced abusive behavior to understand that hope is real. The cycle of abuse can and must be broken. Their advice is to seek and accept help. We now live in a time when help is often available in some form. They also advise to acknowledge the love of family and friends, to find grace wherever possible, and to always wield your sense of humor like a mighty sword. It is a powerful weapon.