St. Louis, MO -- (SBWire) -- 09/09/2014 --Following D. Cross’ diagnosis with the debilitating, incurable disease, Myositis (an autoimmune disease caused by inflammation of the body’s muscles), she began writing her story, including a suicide attempt and training as a Psychologist, to better understand her own condition and to help others facing the same adversity. It’s a remarkable story of the transition from victim to victor and one that has raised much awareness for the psychosocial and emotional deprivation effects associated with chronic illness.
Wanting to reach out to as many as possible, Cross compiled her story into a powerful memoir. ‘Silent Screams,’ and pulls no punches when telling her story with a raw honesty. It’s a story few would ever tell, but one that many are waiting to hear.
Synopsis:
Silent Screams recounts one woman's painful struggle following a severe psychological crisis. After an attempted suicide reveals the doctor/patient relationship that she has had with her psychiatrist for many years, she takes a look back at her life to understand how she arrived at such a painful and critical point, tracing her background from childhood and including the effects of a long-term physical illness and many emotional traumas. Believing that a formal education in psychology might help her understand her psychiatrist's point of view, she enters college, but following graduate school, her life takes a different path when she and her husband have an opportunity to become self-employed. A bitter divorce and a destructive relationship then throw her into a long emotional tailspin, and it takes some time for her to recover. She continues to study and work feeling the majority of life's tests are behind, so she is shocked when a rare, debilitating, and incurable disease begins taking hold, one that will dictate how she must live the rest of her life.
“Most people are shocked when I tell them that I undertook formal training in Psychology to allow me to better understand my therapist’s perspective,” admits Cross. “But this bold move allowed me to gain self-awareness, to help raise awareness of mental illness and Myositis, and to ultimately assist those who may be contemplating suicide.”
Continuing, “It also covers the vitally-important and urgent issue of misdiagnosis; something that’s becoming a global epidemic. While it is not only a failure of medical teams, it fosters long-lasting mental pain in patients. I’ve been there and can attest to the problem’s ferocity. You can see this betrayal for yourself by reading the book.”
Since its release, the book has garnered a string of rave reviews. For example, Elizabeth comments, “I couldn't put this book down. It is the story of a brave woman's battle with ailing health that made her search for answers in places most people never find. Her journey leads her to discover eventually that her physical body had let her down after all her struggles in the worst way.”
Paul R. Hurlburt adds, “A world of alienation passing as normality, combined with physical affliction that rules her childhood, drives the author to attempt suicide as a young, attractive woman. From that point on, there's a relentless, painstaking effort on her part to understand the forces that are putting her down. This autobiography is distinguished by the author's clinical approach that dismisses nothing and no one including herself. Yet the author's idea is not to assign blame, it's to find healing--healing for you and for me, when we hear the screams and recognize the voice.”
‘Silent Screams’, from Strategic Book Publishing, is available now: http://amzn.to/1wdY2uQ
About D.Cross
D.Cross' stunning memoir, Silent Screams, recounts her journey through psychological crisis, physical illness, and emotional trauma. It is a frank and insightful narrative based on her background in Psychology, Counseling/Therapy, and as a teacher, business owner and poet living in the Midwest.
