Publisher's Synopsis
PROLOGUE
This brutally honest Anthology relays the harrowing account of a slow and painful recollection of childhood torture suffered at the hands of sexual predators.
Trek through 6 years of undulating hell towards the light of change. Through the ravages of Complex Post Traumatic Disorder (C-PTSD), Extreme Anxiety and Depressive Disorders, you will get an insight into the workings of a broken mind, where trauma is unsure if it is present or past.
You will skirt the walls of tunnels within a mind of terror and a viewpoint of a toddler and emerge into the light, where change can begin. A tiny little girl awaits through screaming whispers cast onto dark walls with no ears.
This collective is also an insight into the current mental health crisis and care in the midst of what seems to be a pandemic of Lost Youth.
REVIEW
In this book, the author invites us an into their inner world, into what it feels like to go through trauma. Joelle Johnson does this in a very artistic, skilful, and insightful way. She is mastering the art of expression without exposing the reader to each detail of the trauma itself. The author has chosen to voice their trauma in the form of poetry that is revealing the intention that gives birth to clear words. Words that are no longer suppressed in the silence and pain that was caused in the past.
This book is an act of balance, offering us to connect with the multi-facets of trauma and its phenomena, being drawn into the pain of terror as well as the tiny glimmer of hope. There is a way out, or should I say a way to live with it or without. The author describes the many attempts and ways to understand their trauma, its echoing and rippling impact in their life in each second. However, the search inside, outside and the discoveries within this, is ongoing work.
Hearing stories from our peers can be very inspiring and helpful. It is encouraging, normalising, and acknowledging what individuals go through if they have experienced complex trauma. "This is a cupcake version", the author says because her "set of traumas are so deep that it is not wise to share with non-professionals". And therefore, she makes it accessible to the reader who might have experienced this type of trauma, or who might be a friend of someone who has gone through this. She articulates trauma in a creative way and creates an alignment between the victims of trauma. It also reveals not only the face, impact, and effect of trauma on someone's life, it also reveals its ever presence.
Joelle Johnson has carefully chosen a collection of poems to protect the reader "a cupcake version". If this book is a "cupcake version" you can only imagine what the cake might look like.
Regina Gerlach, Clinical Psychologist and Mindfulness Practitioner, Perth, Western Australia.
