Mental Wellness: Real Stories From Survivors
Edited by Deb Damone
136 pages
$2.99 Kindle version
This book is NOT an easy read. With the first story, I thought, "Wow. At least I never went through something like that," but the next few stories had me in tears. Not necessarily sad tears, or tears of pity, but almost from relief...I thought, "There are people who have had similar experiences and understand...and they were able to put all their thoughts and feelings into words." By the end of the book, I felt strangely refreshed. The stories were very cathartic, to say the least.
Without going into detail, dysfunction and abuse was a part of my life for many years, brought into my life by other people. As I grew up, I went from "Why me?" and "What did I do to make these people treat me like this?" to deciding, "I will not be defined by the actions of others. I will be defined by my own actions." I'm sharing this because I want people to know that I had very personal reasons for wanting to read this collection.
There is also the fact that I'm familiar with a lot of the authors in this book. I don't necessarily know them personally, but I've crossed paths with them on a regular basis in the literary community. It was surreal to see these people...these people who I have always held in high esteem based on the quality of their work...sharing very personal experiences from the darkest parts of their lives, in hopes of...well, in hope of giving hope.
So, what if you have been fortunate enough to live a truly blessed life? This will give you some insight on what it's like to struggle with inner demons...especially the demons that society doesn't recognize as being as serious as physical illnesses. You'll appreciate the lengths many people go to in order to give the appearance of being "normal."
I am convinced that these stories will replace fear and uncertainty with optimism and determination for many readers.
As always,
AstraDaemon
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