Unraveling

Have you ever been paralyzed with the decision to leave a marriage that your entire foundational upbringing had prepared you to stay in? Have you thought, 'I will not make it through this'?This book of poems explores a codependent woman growing up in cultish, evangelicalism. She explores how her childhood allowed her to disassociate from a young age. She gets married at 19 to her first boyfriend and stays in an emotionally abusive marriage for almost 2 decades. Helen Joy experienced extreme depression, self harm, and suicidal ideation as she stays in the marriage like a 'good Christian wife' should. Following a suicide attempt she finally leaves the marriage and embarks on a healing journey as she unravels decades of pain, including pain from her church. The poems and photo portraits are grief stricken and yet hopeful.Poems cover a variety of subjects including:purity cultureIBLP and Bill Gothard cult teachingsemotional abusemental health stepping away from organized religiontherapybody lovefinding worthfinding loveThink you're not a poem person? This book tackles heavy topics in a digestible manner. Poems are various lengths, don't rhyme, and vary between endearing and hilarious. Don't want to read something depressing? This has a steady upswing and a beautiful feeling of spring to it.If you want an insider take on the grief of divorce and the growing pains of leaving what feels comfortable, this book is for you.