Ronald E. Yates's Blog, page 85
September 28, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 11
(NOTE: For the next three days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author Amy Reece
Book: THE WAY TO HER HEART – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D5FJ41M/
Book Blurb: No amount of counseling can bring Josh Harris back to his old self. After a tragedy that changed his life forever, eighteen-year-old Josh has lived in a year-long fog of medication and confusion. It’s all he can do to not think about his dad—a culinary genius who raised him in the kitchen. Thankfully, Josh inherited his golden palate and sixth sense for cooking, which is the only thing that makes sense anymore.
For a seventeen-year-old girl, life can’t get much worse… Bernie Abeyta is a senior in high school and lives with her drug-addicted mother, but has managed to keep her grades up so she can get into college. With her father in prison and her mom’s sleazy boyfriend getting too close for comfort, Bernie turns to her best friend Gabby Rodriguez for help, but discovers Gabby has gone missing. Distressed over her friend’s sudden disappearance, Bernie resorts to living out of her car while she looks for answers and tries to avoid foster care.
Part love, part mystery, part cookbook—and all heart.
Twitter: @AReeceAuthor
JOIN ME FOR THE REMAINING BOOKS IN THE “TREAT” READS BLOG HOP (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti & THE RECTOR by Michael H. Thompson
September 27, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 10
(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author, Wendy Scott
Book: HIEROGLYPH– https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016IZYDE4/
Book Blurb: 13-year-old TC has a secret. No one knows she possesses a supernatural power.
Can TC help her Uncle Max, an archaeologist; to unearth enough evidence to prove Ancient Egyptians visited Australia before he’s discredited in the media by those that want the past to stay buried?
“Some would say that I have a gift, but to me, it’s always been a curse. Before I changed my mind, I tugged off my gloves and whipped my head left and right, checking to see that no one was watching. I sucked in a breath and steadied my nerves then thrust my hands against the stones and touched one of the cartouches. Time and place ripped away.”
An enthralling archaeological mystery, mixing the supernatural with humor and suspense.
Twitter: @WendyJayneScott
JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT” READS BLOG HOP (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)
Friday, 9/28/18: “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti
September 26, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 9
(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author, Bette Stevens
Book: DOG BONE SOUP – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S5RMUDK/
Book Blurb: Whether or not You Grew Up in the 1950s and 60s, you’ll find DOG BONE SOUP (Historical Fiction) to be soup for the soul. In this coming-of-age novel, Shawn Daniels’s father is the town drunk. Shawn and his brother Willie are in charge of handling everything that needs to be done around the ramshackle place they call home—lugging in water for cooking and cleaning, splitting and stacking firewood…But when chores are done, these resourceful kids strike out on boundless adventures that don’t cost a dime. DOG BONE SOUP is the poignant tale of a dysfunctional family struggling to survive in America in the 50s and 60s, when others were living The American Dream.
Twitter: @BetteAStevens
JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT” READS BLOG HOP (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)
Thursday, 9/27/18: “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott
Friday, 9/28/18: “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti
September 25, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 8
(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author, Bernard Foong
Book: TURPITUDE – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LQYPU30/
Book Blurb: Turpitude is the fourth book to A Harem Boy’s Saga, a provocative story about a young man who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society through his UK boarding school. From there, he was spirited to the Middle East to attend the Bahriji (Oasis) School in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for Harem services for the wealthy elite. It is also a love story between the young man, his ‘Big Brother,’ and his ‘Valet,’ who served as his chaperones and mentors.
This book follows the teenagers’ erotic and exotic adventures and experiences at their fourth Arabian Household, the Assalamu Alaikum (Peace Be with You) Harem. There, they became confidants to a sheik, assistants to his numerous international ventures, especially that of a film production: “Kāmasūtra – Lover’s Tale.” The teenagers continue to apprentice and model in a controversial photography project, “Sacred Sex in Sacred Places.”
This story is an account of the author’s experiences. Through these truths, often demonized by contemporary societies that deem such behaviors inappropriate, the author hopes to dispel condemnation and negativity related to sexuality, love, and personal freedom.
Twitter: @bernardfoong
JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT” READS BLOG HOP (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)
Wednesday, 9/26/18: “DOG BONE SOUP” by Bette A. Stevens
Thursday, 9/27/18: “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott
Friday, 9/28/18: “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti
The Leftist Mantra: We Have to Destroy the Country to Save it
Anybody who covered the Vietnam War became familiar with several phrases that were used to explain or clarify American involvement.
Terms like “Body Count,” “Hearts and Minds,” “Pacification,” “The light at the end of the tunnel,” come immediately to mind.
But there was another phrase that with just a few alterations seems to define what is happening in our country today. That phrase is “We had to destroy the village to save it.”
It is still used today to describe the brutal absurdities of war and the destructive extremes American forces went to annihilate the Communist Viet Cong who had taken refuge in the South Vietnamese village of Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta.
During the battle American bombs, rockets and napalm obliterated much of the town, hundreds of innocent civilians were killed, and most of the buildings were leveled. After the battle, a U.S. major allegedly justified the carnage by telling a U.S. reporter: “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” In other words, the only way to kill the Viet Cong enemy was to destroy everybody and everything around them.
[image error] The Village of Ben Tre after the battle
When I watch what is happening today in America’s political universe the phrase that comes to mind is this: “We have to destroy the country to save it.”
It seems to be the justification for the perpetual war the Democrat party and the leftists that control it are waging against President Trump and anybody who supports his agenda.
Whatever happened to the concept of the “loyal opposition?” Do Americans even remember what a loyal opposition is? I sincerely doubt it.
A loyal opposition implies that a party that doesn’t hold the presidency or a majority in the House or Senate can still oppose the actions of the sitting president and the majority party while remaining loyal to the source of the government’s power—our constitutional form of government. In other words, they will not mount a Coup d’état to overthrow the government; they will wait for the next election so the electorate can vote the rascals out.
During World War II, for example, the Democrat Party held the office of president and the Republican Party cooperated fully and without reservation in the war effort.
In the past, we also saw this form of loyalty play out in the Senate judiciary committee when senators from both sides often voted for a judicial candidate without the kind of political rancor we see today. For example, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, three of his nominees were approved unanimously (Sandra Day O’Connor, 99-0; Antonin Scalia, 98-0; and Anthony Kennedy, 97-0).
Let’s look at the current justices and the votes they received. Clarence Thomas was approved in 1991 by the vote of 52-48; Ruth Bader Ginsburg was approved in 1993 by a vote of 96-3; Stephen Breyer was approved in 1994, by a vote of 87-9; John Roberts, in 2005 by a vote of 78-22,; Samuel Alito, 2006, 58-42; Sonia Sotomayor, 2009, 68-31; Elena Kagan, 2010, 63-37; Neil Gorsuch, 2017, 54-45.
Should Circuit Court Judge Eric Kavanaugh be confirmed by what is likely to be the closest vote yet—maybe 51-49, we can safely say that the from this day forward, Supreme Court Justices will have to go through seven levels of hell to attain a seat on the nation’s highest court. The confirmation process is no longer about who is best qualified, who has the best legal mind, who can be the best justice, but what political party he or she belongs to and whether they are liberal, judicial activists, conservative or strict constructionists. In other words, it has devolved into a form of political combat; a kind of survival of the fittest.
[image error] Judge Kavanaugh
After the disgraceful displays of partisan politics regarding Judge Kavanaugh, if Democrats believe one of their future nominees will fly right through the confirmation process the way Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, or Kagan did they are sadly mistaken. There are long memories in the Senate and the way the last two Trump nominees have been treated means the Democrats are in for some severe retribution.
It’s a sad state of affairs.
The same can be said for the demented and frenzied opposition to President Trump, his cabinet and his supporters, all of whom have been called the coarsest and most offensive of names—from “deplorables” and racists to Nazis and Fascists by the alleged “loyal opposition.”
The leftists and socialists that appear to be running the Democrat party are intent on turning our republic into a socialist ghetto. Never mind that socialism has failed in every country where it has been tried.
For some inane reason, there are people on the left who want to subject our highly successful capitalist republic to a form of government that eliminates incentive and profit and instead creates a system which says “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”—the highly flawed philosophy of Marxism.
Why? It’s the “we have to destroy the country to save it” argument.
That mantra says, “Get rid of President Trump at any cost—even by death if necessary.” (Yes, people on the left have actually said that and some, like goofy Maxine Waters, have come close to saying it).
That’s where we are today. Get rid of the Trump administration, even if it means destroying our democracy, our republic, and rebuilding it again, preferably in the image of Karl Marx.
So villagers take heed. Watch out for the political napalm, the socialist rockets, and the leftist bombs as we approach the midterm elections. The barrage from the left has only just begun, and our country just may not survive the onslaught.
September 24, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 7
(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author, Karen Ingalls
Book: OUTSHINE: AN OVARIAN CANCER MEMOIR – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KI1HGZI/
Book Blurb: When Karen Ingalls was diagnosed with Stage IIC ovarian cancer, she realized ho little she knew about what is called “the silent killer.” As Ingalls began to educate herself she felt overwhelmed by the prevalent negativity of cancer. Lost in the information about drugs, side effects, and statistics, she redirected her energy to focus on the equally overwhelming blessings of life, learning to rejoice in each day and find peace in spirituality. In this memoir, Karen is a calming presence and positive companion, offering a refreshing perspective of hope with the knowledge that “the beauty of the soul, the real me and the real you, outshines the effects of cancer, chemotherapy, and radian. It is a story of survival and reminds readers that disease is not an absolute, but a challenge to recover.
Twitter: @KIngallsAuthor
JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT” READS BLOG HOP (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)
Tuesday, 9/25/18: “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong
Wednesday, 9/26/18: “DOG BONE SOUP” by Bette A. Stevens
Thursday, 9/27/18: “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott
Friday, 9/28/18: “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti
September 23, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 6
(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author, Rhani D’Chae
Book: ONE DYKE COZY – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0713TQFCF/
Book Blurb: People come into our lives for a day, a season, or a reason…
“Shy taught me to fight like a champion, love like a poet, & live like it was my last day on earth.”
One Dyke Cozy touches on the lives of two girls, Gabby and Shy, from their first meeting as children to Shy’s untimely death.
This novel contains profanity and adult situations.
Twitter: @rhanidchae
Monday, 9/24/18: “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls
Tuesday, 9/25/18: “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong
Wednesday, 9/26/18: “DOG BONE SOUP” by Bette A. Stevens
Thursday, 9/27/18: “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott
Friday, 9/28/18: “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti
September 22, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 5
(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop.) #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author/Editor, Robert Fear
Book: EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HDWF1CY/
Book Blurb: John Fear was born into a religious sect known as the Exclusive Brethren. This sheltered him from the outside world as he grew up, but could not hide him from its influences. A struggle began in his mind that led him to leave the Brethren, along with his young family. Rather than reacting as many do and totally abandoning any belief system, John remained true to his convictions and continued a strongly religious way of life. Still serving God he worked in many places throughout the world, rubbing shoulders with famous people such as Billy Graham, Mother Teresa and Cliff Richard.
The writing style of this book is dynamic and engaging. John’s personality shines through and he paints an insightful account of his personal life and surrounding historical events. This account is not a sensationalised expose of the Exclusive Brethren. Instead, it follows one man’s life journey and is brought to life through his diary entries and family letters. This beautifully edited book is more than a memoir. It is a delightful mix of history, social customs, travel and belief. An honest, personal and emotive account of how religion can touch and shape a person’s life – forever.
Twitter: @fredsdiary1981
JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT” READS BLOG HOP
(Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)
Tuesday, 9/18/18: “THE IMPROBABLE JOURNEYS OF BILLY BATTLES” by Ronald Yates
Wednesday, 9/19/18: “IN THE SHADOW OF LIES” by Mary Adler
Thursday, 9/20/18: “LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE” by Gwen Plano
Friday, 9/21/18: “SON OF MY FATHER” by Peggy Hattendorf
Saturday, 9/22/18: “EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE” by Robert Fear
Sunday, 9/23/18: “ONE DYKE COZY” by Rhani D’Chae
Monday, 9/24/18: “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls
Tuesday, 9/25/18: “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong
Wednesday, 9/26/18: “DOG BONE SOUP” by Bette A. Stevens
Thursday, 9/27/18: “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott
Friday, 9/28/18: “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti
September 21, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 4
(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop.) #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author, Peggy Hattendorff
Book: SON OF MY FATHER – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIKH570/
Book Blurb: It was always “Father” never “Dad.” The love and respect was manifest so was the distance – the distance not as evident. Christiana Lynn Barrington’s life was a carefully constructed world built, presented and controlled by her billionaire father, Jonathan Robert Barrington. She never knew anything else.
Frequently, she wondered if her father had wished to have had a son instead of a daughter but never posed the question. Maybe she was afraid of the answer.
As the only child of Jonathan and Elizabeth Matthews Barrington, she was the heir apparent to the behemoth Barrington Holdings International. But a threat to her hard-earned succession waits in the shadows ready to take everything she’s worked for away from her.
Twitter: @PeggyHattendorf
JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT” READS BLOG HOP
(Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)
Tuesday, 9/18/18: “THE IMPROBABLE JOURNEYS OF BILLY BATTLES” by Ronald Yates
Wednesday, 9/19/18: “IN THE SHADOW OF LIES” by Mary Adler
Thursday, 9/20/18: “LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE” by Gwen Plano
Friday, 9/21/18: “SON OF MY FATHER” by Peggy Hattendorf
Saturday, 9/22/18: “EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE” by Robert Fear
Sunday, 9/23/18: “ONE DYKE COZY” by Rhani D’Chae
Monday, 9/24/18: “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls
Tuesday, 9/25/18: “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong
Wednesday, 9/26/18: “DOG BONE SOUP” by Bette A. Stevens
Thursday, 9/27/18: “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott
Friday, 9/28/18: “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti
September 20, 2018
The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 3
(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)
“Greetings! Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent. Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members! Way to go RWISA!
We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review. There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.
Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”
[image error] Author, Gwen Plano
Book: LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7WYTW6/
Book Blurb: Inspiring and unforgettable, Letting Go into Perfect Love is a riveting account of a journey through the terror of domestic violence to a faith that transforms all. As a college administrator, Gwendolyn M. Plano lived her professional life in a highly visible and accountable space–but as a wife and mother, behind closed doors, she and her family experienced unpredictable threat. The statistics are staggering–every 9 seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten–but to Gwen, this was her secret; it was her shame. When her husband eventually turned his brutality on her son, she knew she could no longer remain silent.
Alternately heart-wrenching and joyful, this is a story of triumph over adversity–one woman’s uplifting account of learning how to forgive the unforgiveable, recover her sense of self, bring healing into her family, and honor the journey home. Accompanied by glimpses of celestial beings, Gwen charts a path through sorrow to joy–and ultimately, writes of the one perfect love we all seek
Twitter: @gmplano
My Review of “Letting Go into Perfect Love”
A memoir bursting with critical life lessons
It’s not easy to look back on one’s life and relive the pain associated with years of physical and psychological abuse. The process can be wrenching and heart-rending. But it can also be extremely cathartic and liberating.
That’s the takeaway I have after reading Gwen Plano’s extraordinarily candid memoir, “Letting Go into Perfect Love: Discovering the Extraordinary after Abuse.” I did not suffer from abuse, so when I hear or read the stories of people who have, I have to put my own reality on hold.
This is an honest and unsettling story of a woman’s difficult journey through two ill-fated marriages—the second one, a 25-year-long ordeal of abuse. At a couple of points in the book I wanted to shout at Gwen—“Get out, dump this guy, save yourself!” But as with many women who live with abusive men, Gwen was either afraid to do anything or deceived herself into thinking that the abuse she was suffering was somehow her fault.
This is a common emotion among many abused women—and it’s one that I, as a man, simply cannot fathom. After reading this book I was left with the dispiriting conclusion that for many women it takes more courage to remain in an abusive relationship than it does to leave it. I know I could not have endured a quarter-century of cruelty and violence.
At one point in the book, Gwen says: “We are creatures of habit, and often, unless we are roused by heartaches, we proceed routinely and sometimes blindly, doing the best we can.”
Finally, when the abuse began to be directed at her three sons and daughter, Gwen’s fierce maternal instincts kicked in and she summoned up the resolve to leave her abusive husband. From that point on, she was a woman in search of the inner peace that the first half of her life had eluded her.
“When it is time, we walk the corridors of our heart, retrieving the shattered threads of once-believed dreams,” Gwen writes. “Perhaps, long after tears have dried and hope has faded, we find what was always there but not seen—and then our desolation gives rise to a new spring.”
She goes on to say: “I am left with only one conclusion: all of life has meaning, and through our tragedies and disappointments, as well as our joys, we are lovingly guided to more profound realizations of that meaning.”
Gwen Plano is correct in her assessment. It is nevertheless disturbing that for so many women who suffer as she did, the journey to enlightenment is such a long and agonizing one.
JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT” READS BLOG HOP
(Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)
Tuesday, 9/18/18: “THE IMPROBABLE JOURNEYS OF BILLY BATTLES” by Ronald Yates
Wednesday, 9/19/18: “IN THE SHADOW OF LIES” by Mary Adler
Thursday, 9/20/18: “LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE” by Gwen Plano
Friday, 9/21/18: “SON OF MY FATHER” by Peggy Hattendorf
Saturday, 9/22/18: “EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE” by Robert Fear
Sunday, 9/23/18: “ONE DYKE COZY” by Rhani D’Chae
Monday, 9/24/18: “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls
Tuesday, 9/25/18: “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong
Wednesday, 9/26/18: “DOG BONE SOUP” by Bette A. Stevens
Thursday, 9/27/18: “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott
Friday, 9/28/18: “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece
Saturday, 9/29/18: “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos
Sunday, 9/30/18: “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti
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