Randolph, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/13/2015 --Angelica Schirrick could be your mother, your aunt, your sister, your best friend, or anyone.
She's the main character in "In the Context of Love," a novel by Linda K. Sienkiewicz that is a story about how oppressive it is for women, or anyone, really, to be silenced by shame.
We've seen people like Angelica in the news. Each time a woman comes forward to share her story of being drugged and raped by a beloved television personality, we see someone who was silenced by shame for decades. Angelica is real in that sense that, not so long ago, any children born of rape would have lived with an unimaginable stigma. "No one can do that to you unless you let them" would have been the message all women absorbed.
But, at the same time, there's hope for all of the Angelicas. Perhaps it's never too late to find your path in life--to leave your past and the secrets that haunt you behind. Maybe a first love, once lost, then found again, can become true and lasting.
"The heart is imprisoned not by being broken, but by being silenced" (Martha Beck). By telling our stories, we embrace who we are. We do not have to be defined by the tragedies that have happened to us. Life is good for the simple reason that it's our life. This is the message in "In the Context of Love."
In the Context of Love
By Linda K. Sienkiewicz
Buddhapuss Ink LLC
ASIN: B00ZRYEYN8
Advance Praise for "In the Context of Love":
"With tenderness, but without blinking, Linda K. Sienkiewicz turns her eye on the predator-prey savannah of the young and still somehow hopeful." ~ Jacqueline Mitchard, author of the #1 NY Times Bestseller, "Deep End of the Ocean"
"Absorbing, heartbreaking, compulsively-readable and insightful, Linda Sienkiewicz's In the Context of Love casts a hypnotic spell. This is storytelling at its best." ~ Lewis Robinson, author of the critically acclaimed, "Officer Friendly: and Other Stories" and "Water Dogs"
"In her dynamic first novel, Linda K. Sienkiewicz takes you on a wild roller coaster ride through love's lowest lows and highest highs, from dark acts of sexual violence to kisses that taste like freedom. In her boldly compelling narrative, Sienkiewicz captures her heroine's harrowing journey with both compassion and passion. Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a wise, vivid and vital new voice in fiction." ~ Elizabeth Searle, author of the Boston Globe Bestseller, "A Four-Sided Bed"
"In the Context of Love is a lovely book. Linda Sienkiewicz has written a love letter to the wonder and imperfection of everyday life." ~ Marcy Dermansky, author of the critically acclaimed novels, "Twins" and "Bad Marie"
About Linda K. Sienkiewicz
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a published poet and fiction writer, cynical optimist, fan of corgis, tea drinker, and wine lover from Michigan. She's a former Ohioan who grew up in Independence, and worked and went to school in Cleveland. The story is set in a fictitious suburb near Cleveland, as well as Sandusky and Toledo.
Her poetry, short stories, and art have been published in more than fifty literary journals, including Prairie Schooner, Clackamas Literary Review, Spoon River, and Permafrost. She received a poetry chapbook award from Bottom Dog Press, and an MFA from the University of Southern Maine. Linda lives with her husband in southeast Michigan, where they spoil their grandchildren and then send them back home. "In the Context of Love" is her debut novel.