Embracing the storm offers a message of hope and healing for families torn apart by tragedy of domestic violence. A book of poems and short essays.
Dreams put fight to the wings of life, although I am but one person, the voice which I use, to speak out against domestic violence, is the voice of many.
Journey to the Magical Places of the Heart by Hope Fields
An uncomfortable visit to the mental institution, Shauna Edward, visits her troubled friend, Melina Gordon, who has been diagnosed manic-depressant and bi-polar, due to physical and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of an alcoholic father that started when she aged eight.
To escape the abuse, Melina marries her high school sweetheart, and ends in another abusive relationship with the husband whom she thought would be her savior. Most of her adult life has been spent in and out of mental institutions, desperately trying to survive and enable herself to maintain a stable lifestyle for herself and her two sons, as she constantly slips in and out of mental oblivion.
Shauna struggles with her live-in-boyfriend, a DJ named James, who cares only about partying and other women. He has no respect for their relationship and lends no support to the mother, his children, whom he constantly takes for granted.
Finding hope in the midst of despair is the driving force behind this collection of poems. They oscillate between the glory and terror of what it means to be human. They ultimately show that we can only find our true purpose by facing and understanding our absolute depravity.