Review: Through the Glass

by Elizabeth Read

Through the Glass by Shannon Moroney

This poignant account of Shannon Moroney’s married life addresses the questions that arise whenever an intelligent, attractive woman is confronted with horrific crimes committed by her partner:

How can she not have known? How can she stand by him knowing what he has done? How can she pick up the pieces of her life and trust again?

A month after their joyful wedding, Shannon’s husband, was arrested for the brutal sexual assaults of two women. She was away at a conference in Toronto when police officers came to tell her that Jason Staples had kidnapped the women, attacked them, and held them captive in the basement of the newlyweds’ home in Peterborough. Shannon found herself living a nightmare as her whole world shattered around her. Suddenly the only contact she had with her husband was looking at him through the glass separating prisoners from visitors. And there were questions that she needed answered.

In her late twenties, when she met Jason, Shannon had the maturity to realize that she needed to make an informed decision before becoming involved with a man who was on parole for a murder he’d committed as a teenager. Both his psychiatrist and parole officer believed him to be rehabilitated, and assured Shannon that there was no danger of his re-offending. As a compassionate, and caring young woman who devoted her life to helping others, she was making a difference with her chosen career counseling high school students, and through her volunteer work. Shannon’s account of their life together paints Jason as a loving partner who gave no sign of the turmoil he was going through while battling the “blackness” in his mind.

Her candid revelations demonstrate how Jason was able to convince both her and himself that their relationship was the second chance he never expected from life. Jason did not fit the usual predator profile, and she was no Karla Homolka even though Shannon soon found herself stigmatized by police, lawyers, social workers, friends, and teaching colleagues. Unsupportive people thought she should immediately repudiate her entire relationship with him, but Shannon found love, and compassion does not die that easily. She stood by him throughout the slow process of negotiating his guilty plea, and designation as a dangerous offender. A “Golden Circle” of family, and friends supported her as she studied restorative justice, earned her master’s degree, and became an advocate for victims’ rights.

By sharing her experiences, Shannon draws attention to the needs of families of offenders, who must deal with the fallout of the crime while being marginalized in the justice system. She poses challenging questions about the purposes of our penal system, and ways it could be improved by giving victims more of a voice. The reader cannot help being moved at this story of a woman who was faced with the ultimate of betrayals, and how she survived with help from the healing power of forgiveness.

Full of hope for the future, Shannon has now remarried, and is preparing to raise a family while continuing her efforts to promote restorative justice.