REACHING-A Fascinating Memoir Detailing The Agony Of Mental Anguish

http://www.amazon.com/Reaching-Grace-Peterson/dp/0989403203/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1371404839&sr=1-1

Published by All Things That Matter Press

in both Kindle and Paperback format on Amazon.

REACHING is the true story of a woman who dredged the depths of mental hell throughout her traumatic life of abuse as a child and teenager. First, by an uncaring, dismissive, and unreachable mother who showed no apparent love for her from her birth. Grace also had  a physically and mentally abusive father and together the parents embedded the seeds of mental agony that would haunt their daughter way into adulthood.

Grace sunk into a spiral of  sex, drugs, and alcohol as a teenager, trying to reason with her torment, and that only exasperated her anguish. She began cutting herself trying to let the anguish flow out. Fortunately, she met and married a caring and sympathizing man and had children she adored, but that was not enough to set her free from the demons that remained, the horrific flashbacks and nightmares that constantly haunted her. She was still searching for a "cure". She tried suicide to relieve the pain and was briefly hospitalized but evidently they didn't recognize the depth of her problems and she was released  from the psych ward in less than a week with nothing resolved to help her cope.

Grace and her family joined a strict religious group trying to resolve order in her life and was ultimately sucked into another extremely unhealthy relationship with Brock, a mind controlling pseudo "religion" psychologist who convinced Grace her grandfather had sexually abused her in a "satanic cult" he belonged to, and thus, she was inhabited by demons.  The charlatan she  trusted and became emotionally "addicted" to promised he could heal her of the devils…but didn't. His "shock" therapy only made her situation worse until she began to feel she wasn't inhabited by demons at all…she was one. Under controlling Brock’s influence, she concluded,  “None of the thoughts I held were my own. Every daydream, every impulse, every concept, idea, opinion, everything, my entire mind was demonic…Pure hell.”

The conclusion of the memoir is how Grace finally broke away from Brock’s control and found medical help that was successful and set her on a course to be relieved of the torment.

The story is raw and descriptive, well written, and spell binding, with Grace able to draw the reader into her tormented world to feel her unbearable  pain and anguish. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever wondered what having to live with mental agony in a distorted world is like…terrifying and treacherous. Reaching proves real life can be stranger than fiction, but that with determination one can turn a torture filled existence into a loving, fulfilling, and appreciated life.

I applaud Grace for finally being able to break the mental chains that bound her for so long.                           

Grace Peterson

About the Author

Grace Peterson now divides her time between working as an administrative assistant, writing, and gardening. She is a member of The Association of Writing Excellence and The National Association of Memoir Writers and has published essays in several anthologies. She authors two blogs and does a newspaper garden column. She is the proud mother of four grown children, four friendly felines, and has been married to her best friend since 1980. You can find her blogs at:

www.gracepete.com

*****
Her second book, on a much lighter side, is about gardening and is in the process of publication also with All Things That Matter Press.

 Below are several views of her fantastic gardens.