The Journey Within : A Novel

What dark secrets lurk in the shadows of the subconscious mind that blocks happiness and reaps despair? Choosing to live one more day, Christa put the knife down and decided to take the journey into discovering the psychological reasons for her persistent sadness, wishing she were dead and always yearning for unrequited love. At a very young and impressionable age, Christa had the traumatic misfortune to experience sexual abuse and two near rape attempts along with a deep abiding love that happened way too early in her life, which added to her wounds and kept her depressed in her adulthood. It takes determined effort in counseling to discover and heal the buried shame of sexual abuse. Intensive journaling, writing about her dysfunctional childhood, the love she once had and lost, gave her the courage needed to heal the shame of the past that ultimately fostered a resilient spirit during the transforming journey on becoming whole. Shattering the template of a negative self-image, forged in formative years, Christa garnered the risk-taking courage necessary for accomplishing her desired pursuits and goals. Determined to endure the ups-and-downs of psychotherapy, Christa birthed the fortitude needed to endure the frustration of weekly counseling that silently unraveled one shameful secret at a time. The looking glass of self-analysis, without notice, subtly chipped away old fears and defensive behaviors, granting Christa freedom from depression and suicidal ideation. Christa's tool for healing was the meticulous effort she put into nightly journaling facilitated by Mr. Lawrence (LCSW) and the counseling process

• | Author: P. Dussman
• | Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• | Publication Date: Sep 28, 2018
• | Number of Pages: 348 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1725933705
• | ISBN-13: 9781725933705