Mim Ellis' inspirational memoir follows the threads of gold from her ancestry of French-protestant refugee silk weavers to a war-torn London childhood with parents from a bygone era, bomb sites, biscuits, and winkle-picker shoes. A 'square peg-in-a-round hole' on her arrival in Australia (1966), she was like a fading golden rose. Settling in Tasmania, 'the other end of the earth, ' Mim became a teacher, award-winning tourism operator, writer, poet and actor and is now a prayer minister..
Her story vividly relates her struggle with damaged emotions, interwoven with her Christian faith search for peace. The tapestry of her life was so entangled by the frayed, threadbare strands of abandonment that it was easily torn to shreds.
Although she dramatically recovered from huge abandonment issues, it was twenty years and starting her autobiography, before she realised there was more damage to be repaired than she expected from the covert abuse in her marriage. God answers her question, 'Why?' unravelling the knots for her to understand and come to terms with covert narcissistic abuse, gaslighting, trauma bonding, addiction and that had almost destroyed her.
The reader is challenged to consider their own issues of damage, spirituality and potential healing.
Would you expect a helicopter pilot to explain the meaning of Jesus' death so clearly to you? Probably not, but hopefully he does in one of these stories. If memories of pain, healing and restoration are not shared, then what was it worth?
With a foreword by well-known author, Warren Reid, Mim's intriguing stories are often fascinating and amusing. The book culminates with some amazing encouraging bookends.
Planned as a coffee-table book, this surprisingly raw story is softened with Mim's poetry and beautiful personal photographs (including Lily, the cat).
