The Meaning of Love (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781963271768)

Johanna S. Billing's THE MEANING OF LOVE weaves the author's quirky sense of optimism through an intriguing story of childhood abuse and its aftermath.

By the time she was 25, Johanna S. Billings had already suffered multiple traumas, losing her entire family in the process.

Her memoir, The Meaning of Love, tells a story that begins with her parents unable to care for her severely disabled sister. Her parents separate and her 9-year-old sister is sent to live in a nursing home. Not long after the author's 15th birthday, her dad is killed by a drunk driver, leaving no one to help her survive living alone with her volatile and abusive mother.

When her mother is investigated for child abuse and cleared, Johanna shuts down, stops asking for help and tries to endure her home life until she can escape. But escape doesn't provide the solace she'd hoped for, especially after her mother dies by suicide, leaving behind a mess-literal and figurative.

A promising writing career, a healthy marriage and the strain of the past subsided. Then Johanna was blindsided by a (mis)diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Suddenly, stability felt elusive and reality, less predictable than she'd hoped.

The Meaning of Love centers on Johanna's trauma and recovery as she explores forgiveness, constructive thinking, the labyrinth of mental health care, and the disconnection from society felt by many disabled people and their families. Despite its serious nature, this irresistible memoir is at times quirky and humorous, showcasing the author's indomitable sense of optimism and her love of art, nature, and romance.

Johanna S. Billings is an award-winning writer and photographer turned antique dealer. Before launching the business, Johanna worked for both daily and weekly newspapers in her native Pennsylvania and her adopted Maine home as a writer, photographer and editor. Her work has garnered recognition on the state, New England and national level in categories as diverse as investigative journalism, features, business and photography. She and her husband, Sean, co-authored a dozen books on antique glass and local history. They live in Greenville, Maine.