Dawn Colclasure

Survivors of an abusive childhood know just how hard it can be to break free from their past.Memories linger.The anger remains. Trauma and nightmares sometimes take hold, pulling the survivor right back into the hellish world they escaped from. Add to this the mental health issues they must cope with, such as sleeping disorders, anxiety, panic disorder, suicide ideation, and depression. Then throw in addiction for good measure.All of these elements can make life a living hell for anyone who has survived such trauma. It creates a nightmare that may never end. The poems in this book reflect battles the author has had to fight, then and now.Some of these battles are an ongoing torment that could make the dangers of mental health disorders seem like a welcoming reprieve from the neverending torment they must learn to live with.

We will never have enough days to do all the things we want to do and see all the places we want to see. This gift of life is ours to cherish and to get as much out of as we can. While we are on our journey, we can choose to do good things or do bad things. In the end, the life we choose to live and create will stand testament to what we leave behind. And meanwhile, we can allow life to pass us by, or get out there and live our lives to the fullest. Enjoy the days you have, for they are only so many.

A house never forgets. And for Maureen Boyd, neither does a vengeful ghost lurking within what she hopes to be a dream home for her with her new husband and children. After her son's house-flipping company loses out on a deal, Maureen's husband buys the house, and Maureen hopes that living closer to her son will help salvage their distant relationship. But living in a haunted house brings up dark family secrets her husband would rather keep buried, plus opening an old wound that Maureen's long-distant relative could never forgive.