Falling: A Journey of Strength, Survival and Rising

In this deeply moving memoir, L.A. Batista recounts her incredible journey through a life filled with obstacles - family turmoil, physical challenges, an abusive marriage, and single parenthood. Despite the hardships, her story is one of unyielding strength and resilience.

Beginning with her childhood in the 1960s in a neighborhood in New York City, the author recounts her family life as she dealt with an undiagnosed rare disease. As a teenager, she found herself in a fractured family, leaving her feeling lost and without the sense of belonging she once knew. School became her escape, a place where she could focus and thrive, despite the emotional upheaval at home. When she married and became a mother, she was determined to provide a loving environment for her firstborn son, despite her own physical challenges. But her marriage quickly unraveled, as her husband's drug addiction took center stage, pushing her to the brink of despair.

Feeling isolated and trapped in a toxic cycle, she fought an internal battle. The good days brought glimmers of hope, but they only masked the growing storm. But despite the emotional and physical toll, the author never gave up. She pushed herself to rise above the wreckage of her marriage, get her college degree, and provide for her sons, all the while holding on to the hope that things would get better.

The author reflects on the strength it took to survive the storms of her life. Her memoir is a powerful reminder that the human spirit can prevail even in the face of overwhelming adversity, and that the key to overcoming life's challenges is to never give up.

L. A. Batista is a retired speech therapist whose passion for helping children improve their language skills is what first inspired her to become a writer and eventually publish a collection of children's books. Since then, her essays and op-eds have appeared across numerous outlets, and now she draws from years of personal struggles to champion and empower those living with disabilities and other challenging circumstances. In her spare time, L. A. Batista is an avid reader, and loves spending time with her family, doing word puzzles, traveling and being close to nature. She currently lives in the Pocono Mountains with her husband and their two cats.