Rose: My Mother Was a Nun

By Gemma Keatley

Seventeen-year-old Rose is on a search for identity and transformation as she attempts to come to terms with the death of her mother: a nunher heroand light of her life. Rose, who has already lived a challenging existence, is anxious to make sense of her life.

As Rose begins to retrace her roots, she discovers more about her mothers identity and the horrendous circumstances that brought her to the abbey and her mother. While reminiscing with the help of her mothers journal, a caring minister, and her own memories, Rose bravely explores her shadowy past that includes an escape from the orphanage, physical and sexual abuse, and a downward spiral that ends in a desperate act and the life-changing realization that she is the only one who controls her destiny. With the goal of restoring her life, Rose slowly begins to build a new future fi lled with love, hope, and dreams.

In this powerful and inspirational tale, a teenager searching for identity and transformation following the death of her mother embarks on a deeply personal journey through her painful past to discover forgiveness, healing, and empowerment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Jun 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781452524405

Gemma Keatley

Gemma Keatley is a Psychologist and a mother of three young children. She lives in Melbourne, Australia. The Druid Boy is her fourth book and the second that has been co-authored with Ruth Keatley. Gemma is passionate about helping others to feel good about themselves and live a more meaningful and satisfying life. For further information about Gemma’s other work and for some great articles, find her at www.livelearnandgrow.org Ruth Keatley is a Registered Nurse and mother of four grown children as well as a growing number of grandchildren. Along with Gemma, she is the co-founder of Live, Learn and Grow, a psychology and personal development service that helps people to know themselves well through the use of personality realms. She runs workshops and facilitates groups as well as working in the area of early parenting. Ruth is passionate about helping mums to feel confident in their ability to parent. For more information about Ruth’s other work go to www.livelearnandgrow.org

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Copyright © 2014 Gemma Keatley.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-4525-2439-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-2440-5 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 07/22/2014

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 1

M y name is Rose; I am seventeen years old. My mother was a nun; she was also my hero. When my mother was alive, I had no desire to know anything about my life. Everything I needed existed within her. She held my world together and gave me the only solid piece of love I ever experie nced.

Now that my mother is gone, I can do nothing but search. I went to her old home, the place where she was born. I tended her garden. I spent time with the church minister who knew her, and I began to make sense of my life. This is my story.

I was born during the war. Well, the war had finished, but who knew the fighting continued? My birth mother was seventeen, and my father was twenty. When he was sixteen he lied about his age to fight for the country he loved, and that country destroyed him. He was one of the lucky ones who came home, but on most days, I think they both secretly wished he hadn’t.

At night, my father would dream. He thought he was back in the war. He fought with my mother in his sleep, and he hurt her. He woke bathed in sweat, and he was sorry. During the day, he drank. He fought with my mother, and he beat her. This time he was not bathed in sweat, but he was still sorry.

When I was just a baby, I was crying. My tummy hurt, and I was hungry. My mum was lying on the floor and wouldn’t get up. In her hand was an empty bottle of pills.

When my father found her, he flew into a rage. "I risked