Bøger af Lois Mathieu

WHAT KIND OF COURAGE DOES ONE NEED TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF ADDICTION AFTER YEARS OF USING ALCOHOL TO RELIEVE ANXIETY? RUMI, THE 13TH CENTURY POET, ASKS: WHY DO YOU STAY IN PRISON WHEN THE DOOR IS SO WIDE OPEN? WILL VALENTINE IS A PROMINENT ARCHITECT WHO SPENDS MUCH OF HIS LIFE USING ALCOHOL TO QUIET ANXIETY. WHEN ALCOHOL BECOMES TOXIC TO HIM, HE NEARLY LOSES HIS LIFE, AND THAT FORCES HIM TO BEGIN THE JOURNEY OF RECOVERY. HE BELIEVES IN THE POWER OF HIS WILL AND PERSONAL COURAGE, AND HE'S DETERMINED TO MAKE IT THROUGH WITH THOSE ASSETS. BUT A SURGE OF ANXIETY WEAKENS HIS WILL POWER AND THREATENS HIS RESOLVE. ANXIETY MEDICATIONS THAT MIGHT BECOME ADDICTIVE ARE FROWNED ON BY HIS COUNSELORS. SAFER MEDICATIONS EITHER DO NOT RELIEVE ANXIETY OR THEY DIMINISH HIS LIBIDO. HE ADMITS THAT IN HIS MIND HE WANTS TO BE SOBER, BUT IN HIS HEART HE WANTS TO KEEP DRINKING. HE REALIZES THAT ALCOHOL HAS GIVEN UP ON HIM MORE THAN HE HAS GIVEN UP ALCOHOL. WHAT WAS ONCE A REMEDY IS NOW A POISON. WILL IS AT THE CROSSROADS WHEN A DIARY COMES INTO HIS HANDS AND CHALLENGES HIM TO CONFRONT HIS ADDICTION AT A DEEPER LEVEL. RELUCTANTLY, HE CONSIDERS THE LIMITATIONS OF WILL POWER AND COURAGE, AND HE RE-THINKS HIS POSITION ON FAITH. BUT WILL VALENTINE IS WARY OF GIVING IN TO A HIGHER POWER FOR FEAR OF LOSING PERSONAL FREEDOM AND THE IDENTITY OF THE MAN HE KNOWS AS HIMSELF. WALK WITH WILL VALENTINE. ACCOMPANY HIM ON HIS JOURNEY AND SEE WHY EVEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE MUCH TO LOSE OFTEN DO NOT HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF ADDICTION.

DEBUT Song for My Birth Mother is a novel about the significance of giving up a child and the aftermath of adoption. Two families experience the irrevocable loss in different ways. The birth mother lives with guilt, regret and a yearning for her firstborn. The adopted child wonders about the origin of her opera quality voice, and in adolescence she descends into a void, trying to understand the reason she was given up and wanting to know if her birth mother ever once wanted her back. The girl keeps this secret for fear of hurting her loving parents. The adoptive parents consider that their joy of adopting a baby is the birth mother's sorrow, and they mildly fear that one day the woman might come looking for her child. This novel brings the reader close to the bone of the adoption triad - the birth mother, the child given up and the adoptive parents, all of whom live with a secret that shapes their lives. Over time, their emotions change, having been transformed by life itself. The birth mother realizes that the child she gave up is a baby no more and that the grown woman might even reject her. She also considers the fallout that might occur should her three children discover that they have a half-sister, one who is on her way to fame. The adopted child wants to search for her birth family but she fears being rejected a second time. The adoptive parents become settled in their lives and they do not favor the idea of opening the door to the past and having their daughter come face to face with her birth family. The debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City is the denouement, as the future of both families stands to be changed once again.

NORA BOOKBINDER runs an art gallery on the upper coast of Maine and hosts fundraisers to support safe homes for women fleeing from abusive men. Single by choice, she mistrusts the history of warring, raping, and misogyny, and views heterosexuality as a conundrum. Marrying into this culture is out of the question. But when a sudden earthquake strikes her village, Nora falls in love with the seismologist heading up the investigation. Passion for the man weakens her independent nature and puts her in crises mode. She goes off to a hideaway in the Colorado Plateau to heal up and consider the risks of marrying the only man she has ever loved. Underlying this love story is the question of marriage and the intrigue that develops in the life of a woman who chooses to remain single. In the real world, more women are raising children without getting married, and many others choose not to have children due to the imposed financial burden. The choice to govern their lives puts women in a situation never before possible, let alone thinkable. Nora Bookbinder's reason for dodging marriage is more daunting, even grim, because her choice is grounded in mistrust of the inherent nature of men. Here, on this playing field, is where the axis of culture, tradition, and biology collide.

In this eloquent, finely structured poetry chapbook, Lois Mathieu takes us past hardship and loss into a world where redemption and joy spread brilliant ribbons of light across the landscape of life.