Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Author Spotlight (Diane Simmons)

The beauty of social media is that you can meet people in different groups. We met in one group and we became instant friends. She's the author of The Moth's Flame and has a story for you. I'll let her share - and with that, show your love for my sister & fellow author Diane Simmons.

I was born June 17 in Cincinnati, Ohio to 15 year old parents who did the best they could raising my siblings and I. At the age of 12 my father was taken away from our family for protecting us and by age 16 our mother had abandoned me.

From the ages of 12-18 I was sexually assaulted by 3 different men; 2 in whom were cousins and 1 who is now my mother's husband. I have forgiven everyone involved and use the pain that I once felt to reach out to other children, teens and adults.

By the age of 21 I experienced my first heartbreak by the only man I thought I would ever love. Because I had become mentally ill with those that I loved the most leaving me I began to develop trust issues as well as sexually abuse myself. Due to my low self-esteem and inner pain I was shielding I became involved with a man who wanted to use that against me.

He was the first and last experience of an abusive relationship which lasted 3 1/2 years. During the course of our relationship I was raped several times in ways that were very uncomfortable. When I finally decided to leave him I became extremely depressed to where my needs were of an infant. If I wasn't fed, given something to drink, cleansed or had someone to comb through my hair it didn't get done.

I was the product of physical, mental, emotional, sexual and psychological abuse. The star of depression; flames within anger and no self-control. Grey hairs of low self-esteem and the STRENGTH in suicide. The capital "I" in invisible because that's what I wanted to be, to cover up the years of pain.

Today I am PHENOMENAL.

PHENOMENAL WOMAN; THAT'S ME!

Author of The Moth’s Flame, The Moth’s Flame Deuces and Provisional Love With Options; each which focus on the subject of abuse. My mission is to speak out against harm done to children, men and women by educating our families about abuse through my experience and the understanding of others.

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