Torn From the Inside Out by Sara Niles

My name is Sara Niles, the author of Torn From the Inside Out, my personal memoir, and testament to the power of the unconquerable human spirit we are all imbued with. Torn From the Inside Out is the story of my life, first as a neglected child, given away to an elderly couple at the age of 3 1/2, and as a victim of domestic violence by the age of 16:

Torn From the Inside Out (Amazon)

 “In the process of my evolution, I became a victim of domestic war, an emotional casualty for a major portion of my life, entwined, entrapped and emotionally involved, until I learned how to become free. Freedom has never been easily gained and has often come at high cost throughout history, but one thing I will always know is freedom is worth every fight, and all pain.” 

From the Prologue

This book is for me and my children, as well as the millions of veterans of domestic war: those who live in homes predominated by domestic violence. Some survive the violence, stronger in some ways, and broken in others, and some do not survive at all.

In memory of the dead victims of domestic violence, I have retold stories of those who became casualties. The stories below are all true; I retold them from the perspective of my own visualizations in an effort to give some validation to lives wasted, and mostly forgotten. Some things are too precious to forget, such as the lessons of history, and the deeds of unsung heroes, for if we stumble into the habit of forgetting, we lose both the value of life and the opportunity to become a wiser and stronger generation. If we forget, we lessen our children’s heritage and cheat them of the legacy of their pasts, therefore we can never forget.

I lived a life that was far from ordinary, and even far from normal. I was given away when I was barely over three years old to two aged, octogenarian relatives who had been childless until their early eighties, when they received me, much like a human gift. I was cherished and protected by them, that is, as long as they could offer such protection I lived in 'The Garden of Eden'.

Time passed and I found myself far removed from such valued protection when I was on the brink of losing my life to a violent abuser, one I had married and pledged to spend a lifetime with. My life would take me far from my life's oasis, my childhood Garden of Eden.

Chapter One

The Garden of Eden

Thunder rattled the window- panes two stories high and lightning split the sky; it was as if the whole world was in turmoil that night. My nerves were keyed up as tight as piano strings, and in a sudden moment of stillness and silence it felt as though my heartbeat was amplified ten times over. He was over a hundred pounds greater than I, nearly a foot taller, and I knew he could move his muscled body into unbelievable sprints. Rain started falling in torrents, while the storm raged outside. I was not afraid of the storms of nature; it was the storm inside this night that I knew I might not survive.

Anticipation was so great that I wanted to scream at him to get it over with, and true to my expectation he lunged for me, and my body did not disappoint me, I flew down the stairs two at a time in my bare-feet. He stalled for mere seconds to enjoy his pronouncement of a death sentence upon me:
“I AM GOING TO KILL YOU—YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING BITCH—STONE DEAD!”He screamed like a crazed animal.

The date was February 13, of the year 1987, the night that I disappeared into a February rainstorm with five children and no place to go. I was twenty-nine years old.
Torn From the Inside Out as a Kindle E-book is available at promotional prices for six days on Amazon, beginning 03/23/2016-03/28/2016.

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Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist: Never Give Up Your Dream

Paulo Coelho is an internationally famed author, mainly because of his 1987 book, The Alchemist, which has sold over 150 million copies and had a 315 week run on the New York Times best seller list. That is over six continuous years as a best seller.

The Alchemist tells a tale that became almost autobiographical for Coelho: that of a young shepherd boy on a quest for what would become the most valued thing in his life. In Coelho’s case, his personal  quest was to become a writer. From the time Coelho was a young boy in his native land of Brazil; his dream was to become a writer, even though it was scoffed at by others. Writing was his dream. In The Alchemist, Coelho wrote “When you want something, the whole universe conspires to help you”, and those words inspired him to not give up when the first publication of The Alchemist flopped.

If Coelho had listened to the first publisher who decided the book was not worthwhile after the first printing sold less than a dozen copies, or if he had listened to his mother who questioned the logic of becoming a writer, there would have been no Internationally renowned Paulo Coelho, and no The Alchemist, which has won over one hundred awards. There would have been no time spent on the New York Times best seller list, I would not be writing about Paulo Coelho.

The lesson learned is to never give up on your dream.

Sara Niles

Republican Party Holds American Government Hostage

The power struggle between the Democratic and Republican parties of American government are preventing our government from operating the way it was designed to, as a Government for the People and By the People. 

The growing power of the Republican Party is converting the GOP into a ruling despot that sits in government attempting to rule behind the scenes, by the use of delaying strategies, blocking of presidential actions, and obstructing the business of government. The GOP uses propaganda as a blind in an attempt to prevent the American People from seeing the true motivation behind Republican Power Plays, the need for more and more control, with the ultimate agenda of protecting the money of The Rich, not the interests of The People. The GOP threatens to undermine the basic premise of the American Constitution, the need to protect the government from being overtaken by power mongers, by keeping a healthy Checks and Balances system in place. The balance of the system is being placed at risk with each new power –play by the GOP.

The death of Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, has left the nation’s highest court, The Supreme Court,  crippled until a replacement is made. The usual process involves a presidential appointment as a replacement; however, just hours after his death the Republican spoke as one promising to   block any Obama Supreme Court Justice nomination

In order to make such a ridiculous and childish statement, the basis of that reasoning would have to be rooted in two things:

• Deliberate obstruction preventing a duly elected president from performing his duty
• Deliberate attempt to gain ‘Conservative’ (Republican) Power in the Supreme Court of the United States for the furtherance of a  GOP political agenda

The seriously dangerous actions of the GOP, once simplified amounts to ‘Holding the American Government Hostage’ in an attempt to gain more power; even more serious is the basis of the GOP’s need for more power.  The focus of the Grand Old Party has become singularly focused on one goal, that is, to protect the Money and Power of the Rich and Super-rich to the detriment of the common people. 

The smooth operation of a Democratic Government protects everyone, rich and poor equally, for the United States government is a government For the People and By the People…and it is at risk each time the Republicans operate as a team against a team, instead of united front devoted to keeping the checks and balances operational in a Healthy American Democracy.

Regardless of political agendas, the American Government is still based on "We the People".

Sara Niles

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