Truth Is Strange: All of the Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Extremely Guilty!

Betrayal, love, lust and triumph over demons of the past... Kelandra's childhood was spent in a tough neighborhood in the beautiful Berkshire hills, in Pittsfield, a city filled with beauty and awe, surrounded by nature in all of its glory, but where violence and sexual abuse grew, spreading as if it were an epidemic. This is the story of her search for peace from nightmares that plagued her childhood, a childhood that was marred by sexual abuse, where she witnessed more than her share of domestic violence in a neighborhood that was ripe with a sense of hopelessness. It follows Kelandra through her childhood and into adulthood where she finds the rationalization of how torture and trauma could exist simultaneously with fun and adventure for so many years. It is about Kelandra's journey of self-discovery, about how she was able to meet someone and fall deeply in love, how that love began to change her and start the process of growth within her. Even though Kelandra leaves this, would be knight in shining armor, and the nightmares continued to attack her sleep for over a decade, she was able to finally break free from her past. She was healing and discovering that it is okay to love and to be loved back. She will find love again many years later in a twist of fate that is almost too good to be true. She will head full force into her happily ever after without the fear of what will go wrong, conquering the demons she had always battled. She will find the hope that life will finally give her room to breathe and faith in something more. She will finally know contentment and tranquility. If only she reminds herself to look forward and let go of the pain.

Ms. Phoenix is the youngest in a blended family with a total of sixteen siblings; she is the mother of three adult children and "auntie" to everyone else. A massage therapist and cake designer, Ms. Phoenix worked with special needs students for years. These combined experiences inspired Truth Is Strange series.