Ebook345 pages5 hours
Petals: Unfurling a Life with Mental Illness
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
When Mary Turner entered the world, she was already her parents' least-favorite child. Filled with ambition but always seeming to be lacking some crucial skill, Mary left home immediately after graduating high school and set her sights on the endless horizon before her. Mary had had a difficult childhood; when she was young, her grandparents had died in a tragic accident that left the entire family--especially her father, Kenneth--shrouded in a heavy grief. Once on her own, Mary kept her eyes fixed on the future, and soon that future came to include a man named Adam.
Though Adam and Mary had a difficult relationship, they eloped in Las Vegas and returned home a (mostly) happily married couple; it wasn't much later that they became first-time parents. After Scotty was born, however, Mary began exhibiting concerning symptoms. She struggled to bond with her child and experienced increasingly volatile emotional swings. Soon after, Mary was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Mary struggled to cope with her mental illness, and as the years passed, she began turning to drugs and alcohol to soothe her aching mind. She began neglecting, and eventually abusing, Scotty, and the family quickly started to deteriorate. Eventually deciding that Adam and Scotty would be better off without her, Mary packed up her car and ran away to Las Vegas, where she made the bulk of her money by moving illegal drugs. Her time there was a thrilling and dangerous whirlwind, but Mary knew it had to come to an end eventually. Next, she landed in Sedona, Arizona, where she led a quiet, peaceful life, nothing like the one she'd left behind in Vegas.
Still, Mary knew she would need to return home and reconnect with the family she'd abandoned. Instead of finding Adam, Mary found Luke, an old friend and fellow addict. Once reunited with Luke, Mary quickly fell in love with him and agreed to help him smuggle drugs out of the country. She was caught at the Dublin airport, however, and sent to prison, where she learned she was pregnant with Luke's child. Her child was taken from her to live with her father.
Petals also offers a deeply poignant and introspective look into the many facets of mental illness, substance abuse and recovery, death, heartbreak, joy, and forgiveness. It is through its diverse cast of characters that the reader is allowed a look into the minds and senses of all those touched by Mary's journey. Best suited for readers who enjoy fast-paced action combined with a deeply emotional and introspective narrative, Petals is a multi-generational story of everyday humans who must learn to cut their own paths amid the wild, yet heartbreakingly beautiful, garden that is life.
Though Adam and Mary had a difficult relationship, they eloped in Las Vegas and returned home a (mostly) happily married couple; it wasn't much later that they became first-time parents. After Scotty was born, however, Mary began exhibiting concerning symptoms. She struggled to bond with her child and experienced increasingly volatile emotional swings. Soon after, Mary was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Mary struggled to cope with her mental illness, and as the years passed, she began turning to drugs and alcohol to soothe her aching mind. She began neglecting, and eventually abusing, Scotty, and the family quickly started to deteriorate. Eventually deciding that Adam and Scotty would be better off without her, Mary packed up her car and ran away to Las Vegas, where she made the bulk of her money by moving illegal drugs. Her time there was a thrilling and dangerous whirlwind, but Mary knew it had to come to an end eventually. Next, she landed in Sedona, Arizona, where she led a quiet, peaceful life, nothing like the one she'd left behind in Vegas.
Still, Mary knew she would need to return home and reconnect with the family she'd abandoned. Instead of finding Adam, Mary found Luke, an old friend and fellow addict. Once reunited with Luke, Mary quickly fell in love with him and agreed to help him smuggle drugs out of the country. She was caught at the Dublin airport, however, and sent to prison, where she learned she was pregnant with Luke's child. Her child was taken from her to live with her father.
Petals also offers a deeply poignant and introspective look into the many facets of mental illness, substance abuse and recovery, death, heartbreak, joy, and forgiveness. It is through its diverse cast of characters that the reader is allowed a look into the minds and senses of all those touched by Mary's journey. Best suited for readers who enjoy fast-paced action combined with a deeply emotional and introspective narrative, Petals is a multi-generational story of everyday humans who must learn to cut their own paths amid the wild, yet heartbreakingly beautiful, garden that is life.
Read more from Marti Eicholz
Knowing Yourself...or Not Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe DYNAMICS of YOU and the CHILD: A handbook for parents and caregivers of the child, big or small Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRiches, Loss and Redemption: One Woman's Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Extended Hand Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Angel with Secrets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Giant Oak Speaks Wisdom: Listen With Your Ears and Heart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMartha Ruth, Preacher's Daughter: Her Journey Through Religion, Sex and Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Petals
Related ebooks
Sunsets and Buzzards Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPretend the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTook: A Ghost Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fate Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rooster in the Drive Thru: Tales from Life in the Rural Midwest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReturn to Redemption Ridge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBut Still, Music Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThis Will Be Good Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rough Lumber: Stories from Spurlock Creek Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMacchiato Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow To Make Curry Goat Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsITALIAN WOMEN IN BLACK DRESSES Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of the Woods: Nature, Sexuality, and Faith in the Forest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYankee Go Home: A Portrait of Submissiveness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Ray of Sunshine: 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No Father Can Save Her Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Crocodiles Will Arrive Later Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTessa’s Heart: A Texas Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCornfed, Countrified, and Consecrated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFaith’S Destiny 2: Destiny’S Faith Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo See a World in a Grain of Sand Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOut of the Grave: Bad Choices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnd Poison Fell from the Sky: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Survival in Maine's Cancer Valley Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBetween the Tulip Trees: a memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGetaway With Murder: The Mountain Lodge Mysteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Very Beginning: The Story of My Life…. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKit Kat and Lucy: The Country Cats Who Changed a City Girl's World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forever Herself: A Son's Memoir of a Remarkable Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmotions of a Woman: Reflection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Relationships For You
I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All About Love: New Visions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit-Forming Programs to Live an Infinitely Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Codependence and the Power of Detachment: How to Set Boundaries and Make Your Life Your Own Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The ADHD Effect on Marriage: Understand and Rebuild Your Relationship in Six Steps Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covert Passive Aggressive Narcissist: The Narcissism Series, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Art of Loving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Makes Love Last?: How to Build Trust and Avoid Betrayal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet: Discovering New Ways of Living When the Old Ways Stop Working Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Petals
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Petals - Marti Eicholz
E^ book_preview_excerpt.html }KHV0 2{J4ueVKݕY-=Ka!Tp)jԋ@/WW&2]x??%ϫo~X\B?nwk8r\=Cxj\3q0witɻ1n߾=WnE=e?6װx>&7-
|#,c^\;xyF(r
GsM矜\7>5a㛣K~59|jN/֜HZy&WGN[3eI>$tMnޯ)udrA{iqˇfNSէ!^eI_ѻ ɊO'/"K"ð2oٜ`_|-OSAqy1CyMH6^WeݢRҥN"b
2-xӅ;E!ץ?rL]éyQ|'Y=?nɱ'ۺkt)Ȍ_6y\$CV 4w'ˣ(VnUѓz/"}0e3R.2
ĵT[`c4~X6E&}Lp_9QKaAvoG)lI?=!e2|
R*LlNPRn/E*E[DC
jXDFƘB"l].&;).
AU-w\FNyݼ}C;mk2piz;y(.,
Y"jan]nMUREPF_^5@d8fE꛷ ᱹj] gqvOXÚD}\ [*䶏qhE,<3Ge56uiTBVCM͌$pTvMbbE(f܍
7-:̾,X!敪_g$Sɶsm