Book 2 tells of Chock coping with being molested and raped at the age of ten, and years of racial bullying in school, and years of spousal abuse by the men she trusted during her adult years. At the age of sixteen Chock was married to an abusive man for twenty-three years. Three years after Chock’s divorce, she meets Isaac. Chock decided to leave her home and live with Isaac in Los Angeles. With Isaac, Chock began to feel different about herself. To save Isaac’s life, Chock had to put on another pair of big-girl panties. She was forced to find the bitch in her that she had buried and tried to keep hidden by pretending that the ugliness hadn’t happened to her.

From the PREFACE by Fredericka A. Jacks, publisher: These writers recall not only the suffering but also the courage demonstrated by those who are sick and by those who participate in their illness. The writings consistently reminded us, in some ways, of Paul Tillich's expression (and the title to one of his books), the courage to be. In many of these writings the reader will be grasped by the human need for connection and the desire for existential meaning when confronted with pain and suffering. In pain we suffer a fear of non-existence and want to forget, but in the anxiety of forgetting we risk denying life. From the FOREWORD by John F. Lennon: PAIN AND MEMORY refuses to shy away from looking at those tender moments of pain. Whether it is unflinchingly writing about the moment of death ("Mack the Hermit") or trying to come to grips with the loss of a loved one ("Cartography") or the reeling that happens at the end of a relationship ("Heartless") or attempting to understand an injury ("After the Accident") or finding the exact words to discuss the feeling of being abandoned ("Kiribiri"), this anthology does not Hollywoodize pain or sanitize its imprint on those who are affected by it. Instead, these stories pull back the gauze that hides the day to day wounds of our lives and, with surgical precision, allows us to viscerally experience them. In the process, what this anthology will allow us to do as readers is revisit our own stories that we comfortably tell and retell, forcing us to dissect our own memories under the harsh light of truth. And if we are brave enough to look at this pain, as these authors do, what we might discover is a strength that reveals itself at the core of our humanity. After all, if it is true that from our birth to our death we are wrestling with pain, then, as these stories can attest, we are also spending every second of this time persevering as well.

Thirty biblical meditations for women that offer hope in times of suffering. Thirty biblical meditations for women that offer hope in times of suffering. Hurt is real. But so is hope. Kristen and Sarah have walked through, and are walking in, difficult times. So these thirty biblical reflections are full of realism about the hurts of life-yet overwhelmingly full of hope about the God who gives life. This book will gently encourage and greatly help any woman who is struggling with suffering-whether physical, emotional or psychological, and whether for a season or for longer. It is a book to buy for yourself, or to buy for a member of your church or friend. For anyone who is hurting, this book will give hope, not just for life beyond the suffering, but for life in the suffering. Each chapter contains a biblical reflection, with questions and prayers, and a space for journaling.