Book Review: Breaking the Silence by Diamante Lavendar

Title: Breaking the Silence
Author: Diamante Lavendar
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Age Group: Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Based on a true story, a new novel from Diamante Lavendar. Joan Eastman was born like any other girl. However her life would prove to be a life of great pain… Growing up, she was treated differently by family members, powerless to defend herself against their sexual and psychological abuse. Feeling she had been dealt a wicked hand by the “powers that be”, she spiraled into substance abuse and troubled relationships. She became a victim of addiction and self-hatred. Not giving up, she becomes aware of a greater spiritual being that protects her and she begins to heal. Then she finds herself pregnant. She learns to understand nothing is hopeless; that with a changed view and self discovery, there is real hope in every situation, no matter how difficult. As she and her husband look forward to the birth of their child, she writes in her diary as a way of expelling all of the evil memories. On bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy, she endures tests and tribulations that at first she couldn’t begin to understand. But no matter how high the hurdles in Joan’s life are, she doesn’t look back, and pulls the pieces of her life together…for herself and her unborn child. This inspirational story speaks of Joan’s gradual self acceptance and healing of her body, mind and spirit. It speaks of the possibilities of the future and the fulfillment of the dream of love and family. And it speaks of jumping the hurdles in life without looking back, no matter how high those hurdles may be.

In Breaking the Silence, the reader follows the life of Joan, a woman who has been through so much it’s a miracle she’s still alive and kicking. She suffered through sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of family members. After that, she struggled with substance abuse and ended up from one bad relationship into another. Hating herself, afraid of facing the past, each day is a struggle for her.

But then, Joan finds herself pregnant. She finds strength in her pregnancy, the strength to heal and reinvent herself, the strength to find hope, even in hopeless situations. While pregnant, she writes in her diary about the wicked things she went through as a child, as a way for her to heal.

The author describes Joan’s traumatic experiences well, and the scenes that deal with her childhood are horrifying and made me feel instantly sorry for Joan, and the harsh life she’d led. I wanted her to be happy but the road to happiness was long and difficult, and every time, another hurdle was sent her way, but Joan kept on going, finding more strength than I thought she had. She changes a lot throughout the book, becoming an almost different person by the end of it, having dealt with her trauma and starting to heal.

An inspiring journey into a woman’s mind about how to deal with trauma, how to heal, and how to find hope even when everything else seems hopeless.