Young Rusty didn’t even know his last name. His father left his wife and son when Rusty was five years old. Growing up with a single mother on an isolated Iowa farmstead, Rusty didn’t even go to school until five years after his sister Janie was born, the child of a neighborhood rapist. When their mother committed suicide, Rusty stopped his schooling but walked Janie to the country school every day. There she had many friends and a teacher who cared about the welfare of the brother and sister. The siblings struggled on their own until the day a black sedan showed up on their rutted driveway and a city couple kidnapped Janie. Rusty escaped by running to hide on the bluff above their home.
Rusty’s Repair is the story of a poor, uneducated boy’s journey to find himself and his missing sister. He encounters a multitude of obstacles, especially in the number of individuals who take advantage of his naivete. But fortunately, there are just as many kind souls who offer help to Rusty in his diligent efforts to locate his sister. And despite his lack of formal education, Rusty finds solace and rewards in the carpentry skills he acquires and perfects during his formative years. After running into so many dead ends in his life, and so many years of no news about his sister, it’s starting to look like suicide might be the quickest way to end Rusty’s misery. While he was dealt a poor hand most of his life, there just might be a divine purpose and underlying plan for Rusty’s life…a life that began with his mother reading the family Bible.