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TORN From the Inside Out & THE JOURNEY

 MEMOIRS In 1973,  a young woman, barely sixteen years old, and a zealous member of a cultist religious group, married a twenty-three year-o...

Saturday, July 19, 2014

SARA NILES: Books, Writing, and Social Issues: Out of the Maelstrom by Sara Niles

SARA NILES: Books, Writing, and Social Issues: Out of the Maelstrom by Sara Niles: Narrative Memoir: Trauma Tragedy and Triumph 260 pages 71,152 words Out of the Maelstrom is a stand-alone narrative memo...

Out of the Maelstrom by Sara Niles

Narrative Memoir: Trauma Tragedy and Triumph 260 pages 71,152 words





Out of the Maelstrom is a stand-alone narrative memoir that can be read as part of The Torn From the Inside Out trilogy, or separately. Out of the Maelstrom is narrated by Sara Niles as a collection of short stories , philosophical insights and world views that create a global view of human suffering and provide an inspirational mirror that reflects the “power of the human spirit under fire”





Sara Niles survived extreme abuse and fled with her five children in 1987; over a decade later, Sara became a counselor and trainer for a domestic violence agency in a small town. It was during the ten years Sara was employed as a domestic violence professional that she was exposed to the worst of the worst , and the best of the best , those who were defeated and hardened by life and those who were empowered by trauma and tragedy and who not only survived, by triumphed.





Excerpts and Quotes
"When the storms of life are worse than the storms of nature, those who survive rise out of the maelstrom"





“The pages of my books are the parchment upon which I wrote using the 'ink' of my life: the blood, sweat and tears that represent the long struggle of the 'journey', the life trip that began long ago with the hungry little girl who 'sat in the sand' waiting to be saved by ‘an ancient old man’.  The story of child abuse, salvation, domestic violence and escape as told in Torn From the Inside Out, continued with the endearing and heart wrenching story of the children of Torn From the Inside Out in The Journey, as they struggled with the issues of their own survival and redemption.





 Out of the Maelstrom Out of the Maelstrom contains stories about real people: stories of trauma and triumph, and extremes of what life has to offer, from the kindness that defines the best of human nature to the cruelty that defines the worst. Many of the stories contain paradoxical dilemmas of social significance that have arisen out of our culture and stand as a testament to the broken parts of society that affect the marginalized and the forgotten members, the ones most in need of help. The scope of Out of the Maelstrom broadly sweeps in the worldview as part of the context of everyday human life, since no man exists on an island.





Excerpts from Chapter One





"He was dead, alright. The sight of death is an ugly and fearsome thing, I thought, as I absorbed the tragic sight in front of me. It was a man, 'The man', who was lying in the road with blackish--red blood pooled around his head, and as he lay face down with his feet in his own yard, while his head and shoulders were planted in the street, he gave the appearance of a killed animal felled in its tracks by a hunter."





"I applied to work for this agency because I felt that I belonged there, because it was where my heart was. I wanted to help people who had hurt like I hurt and felt trapped like I had. I wanted to empower those who felt they were powerless and give courage to the broken hearted. My comrades in this mission were all there with me, we all wanted the same things for similar reasons and we would share a rich and grand experience working together, an adventure that needed telling, a soulful potion that needs sharing in the journey of this new life" "She said her name was Evelyn, the name sounded soft and genteel, but the lady was not"





"Oh...You will just have to come see for yourself-I'd get over here if I were you -and hurry!" she said with a little nervous laugh" (Sandy the Shelter Manager)





Table of Contents (samples)

Chapter 1.....Homicide in the Street...11 Chapter 2.....A Place of Safety in a Time of Danger...Chapter 3.....A Special Brand of People  ....Norman Rockwell & The Lady From Harvard... Chapter ....Wolves-Within ...........Chapter 28.....A Visit: Back to My Past... Chapter 29.....

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The U.S. Immigration Dilemma is Here and Now

The Immigration Dilemma in the United States and American Roots

The United States of America was born as a result of the blood sweat and tears of former immigrants who sought out a new land. When the first ‘Americans’ set foot on the new land, the natives occupying the land were the only ‘non’ immigrants, everyone else came from England, different countries in Europe, from forced capture from Africa, and from almost every land in the world, so by the year 2014, America is a true melting pot of nations and cultures. The problem with immigration is not so much that there are immigrants still seeking out American soil, the problem is with keeping legal order so that the borders are not flooded with undocumented immigrants who have no legal right to be here. The U.S. has to keep order, or else situations like the case of hundreds of children being placed at risk crossing the desert and vulnerable to the whim of criminals, will become the new norm.

The immigration situation is filled with complications .Many the children that are currently detained by the United  States , were  running away from  dangerous situations and could face death if returned to their native soil; thus placing the U.S. in a no-win situation. The human thing to do is to protect the children by not returning them to ‘certain death’ as O’Malley stated: 

The legal thing to do is to honor American legislation involving immigration, and send the children back. Some believe the children should not be here at all and are protesting their arrival, and some are protesting the possible deportation of these illegal immigrants. What to do? Stick to the law or act humanely? The question is no longer a practice in rhetoric, the question has to be answered immediately because the problem is here and now.
Arizona Immigrant Children:

It may be wise to reflect upon the roots of American origins before making a hasty decision, for example there were many icons that became American legends, who were first immigrants before they became American citizens. Many have contributed richness to our culture, and some have directly changed politics, science and law.

Famous American Immigrants

Fred Astaire’s father, Frederic Austerlitz (the last name Astaire was an attempt to Americanize the last name Austerlitz), arrived in American via Ellis Island in 1892).
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 and arrived in the United States just as Hitler came to power and began his campaign against Jews; Einstein was visiting in the U.S. and decided not to return to Germany, since he was Jewish and would have surely become a target of the Nazi regime. It was after Einstein made the decision not to return to Germany that he discovered his name was on a Nazi ‘hit’ list. Einstein became an American citizen in 1940.Einstein revolutionized the world of physics with his clarification of the relationship between energy and matter, E=MC2
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California, was born in Austria and came to the United States as a body builder in 1921. Schwarzenegger was considered the most famous immigrant in America. Schwarzenegger became a U.S. citizen in 1983.

To name a few more famous U.S. immigrants: Henry Kissinger, Sophia Loren, and Yao Ming
The White House Immigration Reform Plan: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration