Little Girl Fly Away: Haunted by the Demons Within Her

In 1977 Ruth Finley, 47 years old, married, a mother and living in Witchita, Kans., began to receive disturbing letters. The letters gave way to harassment, which in turn culminated in her kidnapping and stabbing by the elusive criminal dubbed the ``Poet.'' After four frustrating years the case was solved when a new police chief deduced that only Ruth herself could be the Poet. This deeply moving account re-creates not only the supposed crime but also the successful psychotherapy which followed. For five years, Ruth was treated by a psychiatrist named Andrew Pickens, gradually revealing that she had been a victim of childhood sexual abuse and that, while not suffering from multiple personality disorder, she still had the abused little girl in her psyche and that girl, resentful that no one had come to the adult Ruth's aid when her husband was stricken ill, became the Poet. Freelance writer Stone tells Ruth's engrossing, bizarre story with great sensitivity. Photos. (Apr.)