No More Pain

By Patricia McDonald

Patricia A. McDonald's first novel No More Pain is jam packed with danger and surprises. Her life wasn't easy growing up so she sought out looking for love and adventure in the wrong places. She put herself and her family's lives in a lot of danger during her search. This book is inspirational and an eye-opener for others who can't find their way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635256932

Book preview

Introduction

Most people live from day to day without looking back on their own experiences. This definitely was the case for me. But reflection on life’s lessons is a valuable asset in life. It is always important to remember how we made it to this point. I have learned a lot from all the mistakes I’ve made in life. In spite of the pain, my mistakes have made me a better person. I never wanted to make the mistakes I made. Nobody wants to make mistakes. Once made, the mistakes could not be taken back. However, I chose not to let the mistakes define me nor damage me in the process. Sometimes you love and sometimes you lose. I’ve always lost. You never know when or how your destiny will unfold. I am more self-aware when I reflect on all my trials and tribulations. I want to share my story with you in hopes that you may learn from my experiences. I feel that there is no better place to start than from the beginning.

I’ll go back as far as I can remember in this journey called life. My mother, Sadie B. Smith, was born on February 28, 1942 in Ruleville, Mississippi. She had six siblings, three brothers and three sisters. Her mother, Flora Kent, died when Sadie was only four years old. Sadie never knew George Smith, although he was her father. He left his family when Sadie was an infant. She never saw him again after the day of abandonment. For obvious reasons, Sadie had a very hard time with the loss of her mother. It took a huge toll on her life. She was plagued by the lingering question, Why did Momma leave me? It was hard for her to understand why her mother was no longer around. She was afraid and became very angry. All she knew was that she wanted and needed her mother.

She was not alone in her hurt and fear and anger from this terrible loss of her mother. Amidst the confusion, her older brother Sammy, at the age of twenty, stepped up and became the parent to his five siblings. It was very hard on my mother, Sadie. But she was off to a good start with the help of her siblings. At the age of five, Sadie had to cook, clean, and do plenty of other chores. She was forced to drop out of school in the sixth grade to work in the cotton fields in order for her and her siblings to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.

My Uncle George met Lizzie Mae Johnson in Greenville, Mississippi and fell in love. They married in September of 1950. Everyone called my aunt Lizzie Mable. I was very confused because I never understood where that name had come from because it wasn’t a part of her name. In 1934, when Mable was about three or four years old, her mother died while giving birth to a sibling. Aunt Mable was another unfortunate soul who was deprived of a chance to experience a mother’s true love. When she and Uncle George met, she already had one child from a previous relationship. His name is Luis Earl Carter Jr. Then they were able to have four children together. Regrettably, one of them died as an infant.

Violet Jean was only eight months old when she was rushed to the hospital very ill. Sadly, she would never make it back home. She had succumbed to her illness. Aunt Mable and Uncle George were very confused when the doctor walked into the room and informed them that she had a very bad infection. Not long after, the infection took her young life. They never quite understood what kind of unwelcomed infection had invaded the body of their infant child and insensitively took her life. It seemed like their big healthy baby girl was just lying there. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. Seeing her made them think they had nothing to worry about. She looked like she was only sleeping. The doctor had tears running down his face when he said, I’m sorry but she is gone. We tried everything we could to save her. They were crushed and still in disbelief. They just couldn’t understand what had happened to her. They had to make sure it wasn’t a big mistake. So they decided to ask, Are you sure she’s not just sleeping? After many failed attempts to get answers, they were forced to just accept this tragic intrusion and move forward in their lives, though it wasn’t going to be easy.

My Uncle George was a guitarist. He helped form a group that played at the jook joint. One particular night, my aunt decided she would go along and see the show. They were playing and having a good time when all of a sudden, a neighbor of theirs came running into the jook joint yelling, George, George, your house is on fire! A fire! They all ran out toward his house, only a couple of blocks away from the bar. When they got close enough, they weren’t even able to see the house because it was surrounded with fire trucks and police cars. The only thing they were able to see was the smoke because of all the lights coming from the cars. They had left the children at home with a neighbor as they always had done before. When they finally made it to the house, it was too late. More tragedy visited their home. Their babysitter and their seven-year-old son had escaped the fire through one of the windows. However, the three younger children were left in the house. The babysitter and seven-year-old tried so hard but sadly there was no way for them to get to the other children in time, nor could the fire fighters make it to the back room where the other three children were trapped. Sorrowfully, all three of them died in the fire. Their ages were two, three, and four years old. My aunt and uncle would never be the same again. The tragedy that struck their family would be something they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. My aunt and uncle were two lost souls. They wished they had died in the fire with their children. They wondered how they could lose three more children after already losing one child earlier. Why is it happening all over again? They struggled so badly from the loss of their children they began to blame each other for being so negligent instead of comforting one other. They thankfully came to realize that they had to help each other through these tragedies. It wasn’t easy but they decided to work on the healing process together.

Things had been so bad that my aunt’s dad Elijah had to gain custody of the only surviving child. He raised him as his own. Elijah died on Christmas day in the early 1980’s. He lived to be one hundred three years old.

Aunt Mable and Uncle George decided the only way they would be able to piece their lives back together was to move as far away from Mississippi as they possibly could. They chose to move to Phoenix, Arizona. They had visited Phoenix once before and loved it. Uncle George decided he would take my mother, Sadie, along with them. They were very close so when he asked her, she didn’t think twice before agreeing to make the move. Sadie also knew she needed a change of her own. Her life still hadn’t felt like it was complete. She was still grieving the loss of her mother from so many years earlier. This move was exactly what she needed. She was only seventeen years old when she left Mississippi in 1959 and headed to Phoenix along with my uncle and his wife. Uncle George was fourteen years older than Sadie so he was more like a father than a brother.

Phoenix was just the place for them to start a new life for themselves. Getting settled in wasn’t a hard task. It went very smoothly for them. In no time at all they had a new home and a fresh start. Only a year later, my mother met Alfred. He was tall, with a medium build, brown complexion, and long, thick hair. To her, it was love at first sight. She knew he was the man for her. He knocked her off her feet. She always looked sassy. Every time she walked out the door, she had a wig on her head and her gun in her purse. She loved to turn heads. Everyone knew not to mess with her. To everyone around her, she was known as Crazy Sadie. She earned that name honestly. I remember many times she shoved that gun in someone’s face. She did not think that anyone would return for retaliation.

Sadie was nineteen years old when she became pregnant with her first child. She was so happy when she received the good news. Now she knew for the first time in her life she could actually be happy. She would have someone she could love unconditionally. She was still living with my aunt and uncle at the time of her pregnancy, which wasn’t easy because my aunt treated her very badly. Aunt Mable had still been carrying a lot of anger for a long