There was a time in which I lived in fear of my parents, their words, their hands, dad's belt, the hurtful words, that still ring in my mind. In the first church I entered the Sunday-school teacher told me, "You're so stupid, you're going to hell," Every chance I had was spent in back alleys among dirt, filth, and wildflowers, it was more comfortable than home. I've had more challenges than most. I am a conquer-ess of my circumstances, a Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse. I'm a survivor and an avid advocate. Through writing and therapies, I've grown and healed. I share, now, in hope my words will help others find their strength, or aide others to understand.
About the Author: She grew up in a working class poor neighborhood. Her struggling parents served turtle soup, fried chicken livers, squirrel stew and whatever they could. Violence above the typical "spankings" occurred. She sought, like many do, someone to save her, to love her, and get her out of her circumstances. As happens all around our world, she got pregnant. He was no prince, come to save her. She hid the pregnancy in fear until the child couldn't be aborted, and found it loving adoptive parents. The first church she entered, condemned her. For years, shunned and bullied, verbally brutalized by family and peers. An occasional positive person planted seeds of hope. Hiding in back-alleys, not wanting to go home, she found solace in the wild flowers and dirt. Discouraged, she went to college, and was laughed at for her math scores. She married her college sweetheart. She took parenting classes before the children came. Married and moved around, away from her birth-family, she was frequently alone to rear her children while he served in military. Circumstances pounded her soul over and over again. Returning to college as an adult, she went through 4 childcare facilities in 8 months. Their eldest having Autism. While gaining math skills in a community college, a professor hit the chalkboard with a probe-stick, making his point; it set off her PTSD. Chronic low self-esteem and depression were her constant challenges. She did more time-outs than her children ever did. To make sense of her life, to get raw emotion out, to accept, to acknowledge, and heal... she wrote. "Mental illness isn't a choice or a crutch, It's a daily battle for your soul." Years of therapy and education and long walks in nature, made me whole." She proved them wrong that called her nothing and stupid. She's a divorced mother of many, an adoption advocate, and a practicing Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse, a strong advocate for the other nurses, for the patients, and for the community as a whole.