Letting Go into Perfect Love
Discovering the Extraordinary after Abuse
Format:Paperback
Publisher:She Writes Press
Published:3rd Jun '14
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Inspiring and unforgettable, Letting Go into Perfect Love is a riveting account of a journey through the terror of domestic violence to a faith that transforms all. As a college administrator, Gwendolyn M. Plano lived her professional life in a highly visible and accountable space—but as a wife and mother, behind closed doors, she and her family experienced unpredictable threat. The statistics are staggering—every 9 seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten—but to Gwen, this was her secret; it was her shame. When her husband eventually turned his brutality on her son, she knew she could no longer remain silent. Alternately heart-wrenching and joyful, this is a story of triumph over adversity--one woman's uplifting account of learning how to forgive the unforgiveable, recover her sense of self, bring healing into her family, and honor the journey home. Accompanied by glimpses of celestial beings, Gwen charts a path through sorrow to joy—and ultimately, writes of the one perfect love we all seek. The story that unfolds is not a blow-by-blow account of savagery hidden within a twenty-five-year marriage; rather, it is a walk through innocent dreams betrayed—to courage found. “Tragedy spares no one;” Gwen points out, “it just courts each of us differently. One way or another, it finds a path into our hearts, and there we do battle with the intruder.” As a survivor who came out of her unhealthy relationship determined to start over, Gwen artfully depicts the challenges of balancing the obligations of motherhood and career with her family's healing process, while offering hope to anyone facing monumental challenges. Integral to Gwen’s journey is her faith. Because of her Catholic upbringing, she struggles with the scandal of divorce, but finally makes her peace. When her daughter reveals her molestation by clergy, however, her fragile sense of serenity dissolves. We walk with Gwen as she tries to make sense of this horror. The agony experienced by the entire family is devastatingly palpable. Against all odds, Gwen emerges confident of her faith and begins to see the threads of meaning in even the darkest moments. The San Francisco Book Review gave Letting Go into Perfect Love a five-star rating and called it a “redemptive memoir.” Publishers Weekly Review stated that the...
2017 KTC International Literary Award Silver Winner 2015 Next Generation Book Awards Finalist in Religious Non-Fiction 2014 The Red City Review Book Awards first prize in Memoir “5-Stars. Letting Go Into Perfect Love is one woman's emotive account of domestic violence, but it's also so much more than that. It's the story of a young mother learning to respect and value herself, a student of religion finding the simple beauty in life around her, a writer searching for the proper words with which to tell her tale. Gwen needed to tell her story—and you need to read it.”
—Red City Review
“The mystical magnitude of her luminous love embraces the reader. This is a redemptive memoir with healing guidelines for those confined in or exposed to abusive relationships, for any who have endured family outrages, and for those wishing to accompany the writer on a journey towards self-realization.”
—San Francisco Book Review
“Memoir at its best with practical advice to battered women . . . [O]ffers a needed perspective for the many desperate women who are or who know someone in an abusive relationship. It also gives Plano a chance to air her grievances. Plano's story is not vindictive, yet it easily could have been. That feature alone suggests some sort of spiritual power behind the book. Call it perfect love or what you will.”
—National Catholic Reporter
“Letting Go into Perfect Love is an unflinchingly honest account of one woman's journey to spiritual and emotional redemption. In writing about her own lessons in learning the redemptive power of love through suffering, spiritual practice, and grace, Gwen Plano allows her readers to reconnect with the painful moments in their own lives and to use those moments to walk a path toward healing and life fulfillment. Plano teaches us that every experience is a lesson; every person, a teacher, that our goal here is not to accept suffering, but to transcend it.”
—Brenda Borron, Professor of English, Irvine Valley College
“Letting Go Into Perfect Love is an inspirational story of the quest for personal wholeness and love. Gwen was reminded by her spiritual counselor that “we are born to become love.” Such a message is difficult to understand when we are captive to expectations, habits, and behaviors that undermine our ability to authentically love ourselves. In Gwen's case, the reminder motivated her to search for self-understanding and wholeness, which are the prerequisites of self-love. It is said that the difference between “try” and “triumph” is a lot of “umph.”Through Gwen's many trials and challenges, she applied a lot of “umph” and charted a heroic path. When a person embarks on the journey of awakening, they begin to create a new future, and the quality of that future is the result of personal intention not driven by past experiences and fate. There is much to be learned from this beautifully written story.”
—Stanley Stefancic, Retired Teacher and Director, Hoffman Institute
ISBN: 9781938314742
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
165 pages