"We should ALL read this book!" - Online Review
A memoir of unrelenting candor and lucid recollections of sexual assault, domestic violence, and depression, Nevertheless: Peace In Spite Of Pain is a story about a young girl, abused, neglected and destined to repeat the generational curses her mother endured, struggling to find love and acceptance from her mom, from strangers and lastly from her Savior Jesus Christ.
Debut author Sharonda Jones shares her through-story of growing up in what she considered an idyllic setting, only to realize her recall was not the reality her mother lived. Hidden from Sharonda was her mother's abuse and abandonment, caused by the grief of losing two infant children and the stress of raising a daughter, while enduring the abuse of her live-in boyfriend. Sharonda's mom plans an escape in the dark of night and their lives become a painful journey of never enough, moving from town to town, living in destitute conditions, and looking for peace and security from people who only mean to hurt and manipulate.
Despite obstacles of abandonment and homelessness as a teenager, Sharonda graduates as the valedictorian of her high school class and receives the offer of a full scholarship to George Washington University. Surprisingly, even after acquiring a Bachelor of Architecture degree with honors from the University of the District of Columbia as a single mother, Sharonda continues to struggle with self-acceptance and, after numerous failed relationships destroy her confidence and self-worth, she marries an incarcerated man facing life in prison. He accepts a plea that would grant them new identities through the witness protection program and she thinks this will be the start of a wonderful new life for her, her son, and her new husband. Instead, it was now a reimaged version of the life her mother tried to escape.
Remarkably Sharonda is able find the silver lining on the collection of dark clouds that overshadow her life, exposing her weaknesses and insecurities to allow God's grace and love to redeem and restore her. Nevertheless: Peace In Spite of Pain is a tremendous tale of finding solace in the faith of Christianity. As a tribute to the people God placed in her life to help her overcome, she recounts, with humbling gratitude, those moments she believes should have destroyed her and the love that continues to give her strength.
It is a powerful testimony for all looking to be encouraged and inspired, proving to the world what God can do for one, He can do for all who believe.
