Breaking the Silence by Diamante Lavendar

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Winner of Mom's Choice Gold Medal in the Inspirational Fiction category!

Winner of the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in Inspirational Fiction and winner of Readers' Favorite 5 Star Review Medal!

Also a recipient of Director's Choice Winner Outstanding Human Relations Courage Indie Book and Silver Winner Realistic Human Relations Fiction Book!

Winner of the Gold Medal for Inspirational Fiction from Reader's Favorite!

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PRODUCT DETAILS
Released on September 21, 2014 from Written Dreams Publishing
Category/Genre: Women’s Christian Fiction/Based on a True Story
Hardcover ISBN: 9780999187012 – $27.99 US
136 Pages

OVERVIEW
Based on a true story, Breaking the Silence is the winner of 5 awards, including the Pinnacle and Mom's Choice awards.

Joan Eastman was born like any other girl. However, her existence would prove to be a life of great pain. Growing up, she was treated differently by family members, powerless to defend herself against them. Feeling she had been dealt a wicked hand by the “powers that be”, she spiraled into despair and recklessness. She became a victim of agonizing circumstances and self-hatred.

Not giving up, she becomes aware of a greater spiritual being that protects her and she begins to awaken to it. Soon after getting married, she finds herself pregnant. She learns to understand nothing is hopeless; that with a changed view and increased understanding, there is real hope in every situation, no matter how difficult.

As she and her husband look forward to the birth of their child, she writes in her diary as a way of expelling all of the evil memories from her past. On bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy, she endures tests and tribulations that, at first, she couldn’t begin to understand. But even as high as the hurdles in Joan’s life are, she doesn’t look back, and pulls the pieces of her life together…for herself and her unborn child.

EDITORIAL REVIEW

"'Breaking The Silence' is a true testimony to the word resilience. A must read for anyone who has experienced or knows someone who has experienced heartache and pain from abuse." — Vicky Coppens, Psychotherapist, MSW, LCSW

"Joan Eastman is put on bed rest for the length of her uncertain pregnancy and buys a diary to occupy her time and Breaking the Silence is what she reveals in her diary: a saga of growing up repressing psychological and sexual cruelty and falling into substance abuse as one reflection of the self-hatred she feels.

Plenty of fiction and nonfiction sagas stop here, chronicling that abuse and its lasting impact; but the strength of Breaking the Silence lies in its ability to proceed past the pain to the other side, using the forthcoming birth of Eastman's child and her diary to foster the process of moving beyond past injustices into healing.

Any who have struggled with past abuse, wondering how to shake its shackles and move into a future unencumbered by past tragedy, will relish the first-person diary entries in Breaking the Silence, which follows a way out of the maze. It's a powerful saga of a woman determined to undertake the work that will truly release her from self-destructive patterns and reactions that pass between generations.

Juxtaposing the progression of pregnancy with life lessons learned from her experiences, Joan's story is a haunting survey of life, death, and everything in between, and a powerful saga not for those who would lead the unexamined life; but especially recommended for readers struggling with their own dark pasts and its implications for the future.

Plenty of stories capture the experience. Too few chart the course between devastation and destruction to spiritual and emotional rebirth. Breaking the Silence is one such gem - and is a top revelation especially recommended for spirituality readers who want an account of finding not just a way out, but God." — Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

"The journey of victimization, self-hatred, healing, illumination, redemption, and peace are wonderfully expressed in Diamante Lavendar's novel. Her motivation cannot only be found by one but by all. Diamante Lavendar's deep understanding of the human heart is a gift to read." — Renee Salvatori, Author of Open Your Heart to the True You

"Breaking the Silence by Diamante Lavendar is a beautifully written story about a woman's experience of childbirth. The story opens in the hospital as Joan Eastman faces a past fear in which she lost a child. And now she sits, pregnant again, with thoughts of fear. From there the story takes you on an emotional personal journey, a testimony of deliverance and the blessing of grace. The story moves through experiences to bring the reader into the story from a firsthand point of view.

It takes courage to write a story like this. The cover itself conveys a profound message of barrenness, which flows brilliantly with the theme of the story. The author states that it's based on a true story, which in itself is a work of bravery. I loved the author's point of view. With the diary inserts, you get an up close and personal invitation into Joan's fears, regrets, and prayers.

Sharing personal things in a fictional or non fictional way leaves you vulnerable to opinions. Courage stands in the face of opinions, knowing that the seed of the message was presented. An insert taken from the book speaks volumes. These words of truth can be utilized by anyone who is a victim.

'Victims never forget. Somewhere deep within their memories lie the things that have happened. It takes strength, great fortitude, to be able to turn the negative into positive. But it is essential in helping victims to fight their demons. And with God, it is possible.'

I recommend this book to anyone seeking words of encouragement through a wonderful, illustrated testimony of deliverance. The ending is the ultimate climax, in which you shall experience the beauty of Angelica Faith." — Tshombye K. Ware for Readers' Favorite - 5 Stars

AUTHOR BIO
Diamante Lavendar is the award-winning author of Breaking the Silence. She is the recipient of the Mom's Choice Gold Medal in Inspirational Fiction, the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in Inspirational Fiction, and the Readers' Favorite 5 Star Review Medal. Diamante believes that everyone should try to leave their own positive mark in the world, to make it a better place for all. Writing is her way of leaving her mark—one story at a time. She is also the author of Poetry and Ponderings: A Journey of Abuse and Healing Through Poetry, released from Written Dreams Publishing in April 2017.