Behind the Masked Smile: A Survivor's Quest for Love (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798718036039)

In her poetic memoir, Behind the Masked Smile, author Isabella Rose takes off her mask of smiles to reveal the innermost world of a survivor of trauma and abuse. Breaking silence, she invites the reader into the real world behind the mask of happiness into the raw, painful moments of her past that led her to a transformational healing journey of love, hope, faith, and freedom. In this collection of autobiographical essays, original artwork, and 184 short poems (written over a 30-year span, beginning when she was only 14 years old), she shares a life story that is moving, oftentimes harrowing, and ultimately inspiring.

Growing up in the "perfect" dysfunctional alcoholic family made Isabella's world a scary and unsafe place from the start. She was told at a young age to silence her voice about what went on in the family home while trying so hard to gain the love, acceptance, and approval she needed. Raped at fourteen, she began a battle with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Always appearing happy and bubbly, she hid well the pain and torment she suffered. As Isabella grew older, she followed in the footsteps of her mother along the path of trauma and abuse laid out by generations of ancestors before her. In this book, she shares the confusion, betrayal, abandonment, being in love with a substance user, and becoming one herself in her search for love and acceptance.

For years, her journey seemed to be leading to a dark place, until one day, she knew something had to change. Praying for the courage and strength she needed to take back her power, she learned to love herself and rise above the trauma she had experienced. Yet it was the trauma, abuse, and addiction she battled alone in silence that ultimately led her to a triumph of faith, love, healing, and a life of freedom-a life she loves, a life where she is making her dreams come true.

"This book of personal essays and poetry following the incredible transitional life of the author is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and offers hope where there seems to be none."
Jessica Lucci