Description

By Doctor Rosaleen O’Brien

ISBN: 978-1-84991-600-4

Published: 2011
Pages: 508
Key Themes: Mental Health, Prose, Poetry, Ireland

Description

About the Author

I have been in receipt of trauma counselling since 1999 on a daily basis,at times speaking till the early hours of the morning.Support from my trauma Counsellor helps me to come to terms with accepting that what has happened to me cannot now be changed. I cannot ever forgive those who had a vicarious liability to look after me and failed. As a result of being locked away for some years all because we were poor has brought certain limitations to my day to day life. Writing is a form of therapy and allows me to be free to be the person that I want to be, and should have been my birthright. Through writing I can reach out to others who may have had such an unfortunate experience as myself . Daily flashbacks can be upsetting and I fill my life with things to do so as to block them out. Day to day life can be exhausting and coping mechanisms that I learnt in order to survive have not helped me in the outside world. God help all fellow survivors and perhaps one day Ireland will accept the terrible price we paid. Shame on all you right thinking residents in Ireland to allow the government and Catholic Church to ignore harm done to me and many others who are either dead or too ill to tell their story. Thanks to Chipmunkapublishing I have been able to confront my demons and a Big Thank you to Reatha my trauma counsellor without her I would not be here today writing about my stolen life.

Book Extract

LETTING GO OF YOUR PAST

Remembering Johnny who had in the past experienced
a sad life
Writing it all down in his diary
He just felt bad all the time
Then he had a dream where God gave him two boxes
A black one and a red
Put notes on bad news in the black box
And the good news notes in the red
This is exactly what his dream had said
During the week Johnny felt quite down
Telephoning friends when he felt low
And walked around wearing a frown
They all in turn made excuses
The kettle was boiling for the tea
Another said there was someone at the door
And the caller he just had to see
Johnny put the phone down and scribbled more sad
notes
Putting them carefully in the black box
He cried saying ‘once we were close’
As time went on a few happy events took place now and
then
He threw these good news notes in the red box and
started all over again
Johnny fell asleep and another dream he had
A voice called out to him asking what kind of a week he
had had
Oh! ‘Johnny exclaimed ‘There were loads of bad news
in the last week
But looking in the black box it was empty
The voice said ‘I made a hole in the black box
These notes you were not meant to keep
Then Johnny looked in the red box
And all the good news were there
Suddenly from Johnny tears did flow
As he understood that the black notes
You are not meant to hold on to
We must let the past go!