Book Synopsis

For Real This Time

On the 24th of April I posted an article entitled “Would You Read This Book? It contained the book synopsis for my book. I felt this gnawing feeling that something about it wasn’t right. I shared it with a friend for feedback. She said my writing was good, but it sounded really generic. I tried to make it better and churned out nothing but trash, rubbish, and garbage. I decided I just needed to accept it the way it was—good and generic.

The next morning while I was engaged in the noble activity of cleaning up the kitchen, I received a huge download out of thin air, and the first two sentences of my actual book synopsis exploded into my brain. I went straight to the computer to type them up. I spent several hours writing the rest slowly. Then I emailed it to the same friend for more feedback.

“You nailed it,” she said when we saw each other the next morning at school drop off. “I don’t think I would change a thing.” Then, “How did you do that? she asked incredulously. I explained that I finally wrote the book synopsis that I wished I could find when I first started searching for abortion recovery in 2008. I stopped trying to advertise a book and wrote the raw honest truth. Here it is:

Though others may judge you, here there is no judgment. Your decision to have an abortion was complicated and personal, and it was the only choice to make at the time. Unfortunately, there was no way to anticipate if, when, or how the trauma would land for you.

If you’re holding this book, my guess is that you’re grieving a loss in silence and isolation. You’re feeling alienated, unloved, and unsupported by every anti-choice, anti-abortion voice who seems to care more about your unborn baby than they care about you. You’re angry with yourself for not handling your past more skillfully. You’re frustrated that healing seems so slow, complicated, and elusive. After all, you’ve done everything. What more could you possibly have to do to get past the pain and carry on with your life in joy and peace?

I’ve been there. When I terminated my first pregnancy I plunged into a depression that consumed me in pain and self-judgment. Ten years of running away from the pain of the past showed me that I needed to learn how to find peace again. With precious few resources to help me, finding peace is exactly what I spent the next ten years doing. 

This memoir tells my story—how I reached a place where I chose abortion, the aftermath of that decision, and the specific steps I took and tools I used to heal. If you are still searching for healing after an abortion, my hope is that here you encounter loving, kind support. May this book inspire you to take the next step on your journey back to wholeness. May it also provide some solace in the knowledge that you do not walk this path alone. 

Love, peace, and healing are yours.

Please answer one question in the comments: Would you read this book?