Message from the Author of 2016 Must Read Novel "Mother At Seven"
If I say that writing my personal story wasn’t a hard thing to do, I would be lying. It was the most challenging thing I have ever done in my entire life. I am not even talking about the language barrier I had to face or the grammar. I am talking about being caught up in a total emotional roller coaster, with “giving up” moments. It was already bad enough that most of my relatives thought it was not a good idea and that the book will be a total failure. To add to the challenge, English isn’t my first language. But, I knew in my heart that I am doing the right thing. Plus, it was not the first time I was alone in my idea. It was not the first time I was told that something I am doing will fail. It was also not the first time I was not supported by the people who are supposed to be there for you, no matter what. My book is not about playing a victim or trying to make others feel bad for me and it’s not about explaining how I was mistreated, neglected, and abused. It’s about the inner powers that we are all born with and are given to us by nature. It’s about one’s courage to survive and to beat the odds from the harsh, challenging destiny. All I wanted to do is to show the world and others who struggle daily, those stuck in very bad situations that with the power of faith and belief in brighter days, everything is possible.
My survival story was always there for me to share but I was not yet ready. It took me almost 20 years to finally tell myself that I am brave enough to talk about what I lived through and to tell others how to persevere. No one has to be stuck in an abusive or bad situation. “Mother at Seven” was the title that I came up with the second I decided to write my book. The cover of it is my actual picture. I choose that particular photo because the first chapter of the book takes place in the same exact location. By the balcony window of our 5th floor apartment. It took me about 3 months to write the original manuscript. Most of the chapters were pretty smooth in terms of the structure and the flow, with only few breaks that I had to take, due to the content being hard to describe. But the breaks were only a few days long. Now, when it came to write the very last chapter, that is where It became emotionally challenging. It took me 3 weeks from the time I finished the 10th chapter to just start on the 11th. Then, it took me another 2 weeks to write it and edit it. I gave my book all of my feelings and memories, without sugar coating or hiding the true facts and emotions. To me, if my readers take even a few teachings from it, I would feel that I have accomplished something very big. My belief is that if a 7 year old girl found the way to survive and prove to destiny that negativity and bad in your life is only temporary, than any of you can do the same! Have faith in yourself and believe in better days! As my grandfather always said “No matter what happens, you need to dream big!” I want to end with this thought. We only have one life to live and to give that up because of others who abuse us, emotionally, financially, or physically, would be really wrong. It’s unfair to ourselves and to those who love us! Why give pleasure to the ones who harm us and want to see us fail? We have to fight for our better future and happiness. We owe it to those who don’t have that opportunity any longer and are dying at this very moment. Those who are taking their last breathe as I am writing this sentence. Those who are wishing right this minute to be able to live for just another hour, another day, or just to see another sunrise. Be thankful for what you have and that is - your life!
by Veronika Gasparyan.
