I'll Do It for My Mom

By Raphaela Damm Stoneman

A hopeful journey through the eyes and mind of a little girl born into trauma.

A family tragedy sends Levi, a beautiful, shy, nine-year-old girl, into a welcoming fantasy world she can lean on.

A story for young adults, I’ll Do It for My Mom tells the emotional story of a daughter’s love and heartache for her mother’s life and her unbreakable strength to survive both her heavy, traumatic reality and the fantasy world she discovered.

Author Raphaela Damm Stoneman brings to life an important topic many shy away from. A compelling ending raises the question: Was her home life that uncommon? If not, how many more are out there?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Mar 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665734257

Raphaela Damm Stoneman

Raphaela Damm Stoneman, a sensitive girly girl, born in Belgium to a French American father and an American mother, raised in Israel, lived through a childhood painted by heartache, trauma, and an uncommon and often misunderstood home life. In her writing, rather than having a narrator’s description, Raphaela often adds her character’s inner thoughts. This offers her readers an intimate point of view, which can be experienced alongside the character. Stoneman now lives happily in California and is the mother of three, grown, young men. She loves love, food, and dancing to a blend of random genres of music.

Book preview

I’LL DO IT FOR

MY MOM

RAPHAELA DAMM STONEMAN

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Copyright © 2023 Raphaela Damm Stoneman.

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination and present recollections of experiences over time or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events are shared with the intention of shedding love light and understanding to all readers.

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

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.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Cover & Interior illustrations Credit:

Leeram Stoneman

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3426-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3425-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022922471

Archway Publishing rev. date: 3/24/2023

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1I’m Going to Remember This Happy Day

Chapter 2What Happened To my Mom?

Chapter 3Look What I Found!

Chapter 4I Visited Mommy at The Hospital Today

Chapter 5My Place Where I Go and Be Happy

Chapter 6My Friends Have a Past I Didn’t Know About

Chapter 7Today Is a Hard Day for Me

Chapter 8I Burst Out a Piece of My Feelings, and It Didn’t Scare Them Away

Chapter 9My Friends Told Me They Like My Outsides and My Insides Too

Chapter 10I’m On the Silent Rollercoaster of Emotions, but I’m OK

Acknowledgments

A Personal Note

A Thank-You Note To Ema (Mom)

To my sons: Sage, Sivan, and Leeram.

You are my everything, and I love you.

PREFACE

I want to tell you something. It’s a little difficult to explain, but guess what? I didn’t write this story. The story won’t leave me alone. First it showed up in my head when I wasn’t thinking about it. Oh, what’s this? I thought. It kept nudging at me. I tried to move on with my days, but the more I didn’t give it attention, the deeper it soaked into every bit of me. Then it woke me up in the middle of the night. I opened my eyes and saw one of the characters smiling at me. At first, I thought, great. Now the story is in my dreams too? But then I saw my bedroom window and the wall right next to it. No, I’m not dreaming. My eyes are open, so I am awake. I could still see the character from the story too. He was in front of me, smiling. I wasn’t scared, because he was smiling at me. I guess I’m sleeping and dreaming with my eyes open?

A few days later, it was clear to me that the only way the story would leave me alone was if I wrote it down on paper. I also had to write a summary of a story that I didn’t ask for. I was trying to understand what this story was really about and who it belonged to. I pondered for a moment, and then something very special happened to me. Permission to share the story with you blessed me in a way that was beyond me and always would be. I didn’t feel like I sat down to write a story. It felt more like the story sat me down to write it for you.

CHAPTER 1

I’m Going to Remember

This Happy Day

I t was a gorgeous weekend morning. Levi (LEH-vee), a beautiful, shy nine-year-old girl, and her mom were riding their bicycles under the clear blue sky, in hopes of