Queen Irena is mother to seven children, two of whom are autistic, and cares for her mentally ill brother. The enormity of her parental responsibility did not prevent her from seeking tertiary education, and from contributing positively to community activities. She does not claim that she struggled effortlessly.

“There were times when I had become suicidal because of the sentence I had been under”, Irena explains.

Yet Irena clings to her sanity and surmounts the overwhelming burdens of her world. Her story, written for the most part as email letters, and beautifully interspersed with poetry, takes the reader on a journey of despair and spiritual soul searching. She embarks on a new relationship and asserts her right to experience genuine and committed love.