Healing Ruth: The Story of One Woman's Journey from Despair to Serenity

Chicago, "The Windy City", my birthplace, the place that I will always call home. That magnificent city will forever be a part of me although I left there for good when I was only fourteen years old. After all it was there that I learned to distinguish the sound of gunfire from the sound of a car backfiring. It was there that I learned to physically fight my battles and stand my ground.However, what I did not learn was how to give or receive love and affection. There was no time for such matters. Now, as I begin my graceful transition from my thirties into my forties I am bound and determined to discover and experience what I have missed for so many years and pass the new found knowledge on to my children.

Shelly R. Jackson began writing as a child and continues to write poetry and novels as she raises her four children and pursues her degree in English.