Tell It All Brother

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This book was the hardest piece of literature I have ever worked on. Mainly because of it's contents that came straight from the personal diary of a woman I loved very much.

(My dear departed mother.)

In some ways, it is a romance novel, but it more ways than that is a documentary of a tough life. The title is a metaphor of sorts, one that she heard over and over from people who didn't always keep them.

You see, she began life in 1925, and before the "Roaring Twenties" were over she was trying to adjust to living in foster homes, not really understanding at her young age why. And throughout her childhood she would be moved about, from one temporary family to another, until she was old enough to strike out on her own, looking for that "home" and that "family" that would truly be hers. An environment where she would be surrounded by people who would not only love her, but who wouldn't make promises they could not keep.

Love.

And when she did leave "home" she would find herself surrounded by even bigger challenges, not only those of broken promises, but sometimes a broken heart and even bones. This is a story about domestic violence, abuse and neglect. It is a very personal story, but one I chose to share, as painful as it is, to show others who might find themselves in hopeless situations like hers that there can be light at the end of their dark circumstances, and that if they keep the faith, decide to have a better life and never give up, they can not only survive, but find the same things that my mother was looking for.

And hopefully, before this story ends it will inspire some to stop waiting for promises to be kept that may never be, and to do what can be done to free themselves from bad situations, and from a person, or groups of people who offer little more than bottomless hopes.

Like I suggested earlier, writing this book was a lip biter for me, and an experience in frustrations that weren't fully understood until after my mother passed away. Like I said, it all comes from her own words, from her personal diary. A journal that was presented to me several years after she left this world.

I wrote this book not from anger as much as I did because I felt she must have had a good reason to not merely document her experiences with such personal notes, but to save and protect them for decades. Perhaps the reason was that she wanted others to learn from her experiences.

I say that because on many occasions while she and I would be talking about a father I never really knew, she would comment to me that she should someday "write a book."

I never fully understood what she meant then, but after being presented the diary, I got it.

So I wrote it for her. And as I was interpreting her notes I often felt good about doing it, sometimes as if she were whispering in my ear...telling me..."It's not as bad as it seems, I did have a good life." And it was at those times that I remembered her sweet smile, and that she had an amazing sense of humor.

"Honey, I Promise!" is available at amazon.com, or from the publisher- Trafford Books.

And although Trafford is a small publishing company that disappointed me with some typographical issues and a few other publishing flaws, I am very proud of this little book, and I believe its message is worth sharing.

Rick.