Resilient Ruin – A memoir of hopes dashed and reclaimed
A teenage girl breaking free. A cunning classmate on the prowl. Can she recover after they collide?
Orphaned as a child, fourteen-year-old Laura finally rebels against her abusive guardian. No longer willing to tolerate the violent tirades and imprisoning restrictions at home, Laura lives on dreams, rock ’n’ roll, and kisses in moonlight. She believes whatever comes next can’t be worse than what she’s already endured.
Her hope for a normal life is ripped away when a predator reels her in. With her heart shattered and her confidence destroyed, Laura plunges into a downward spiral. Substance abuse and risky sexual behavior lead to depression and years of heartbreaking consequences. Laura’s dark path begins to threaten her survival. Yet survive she does, with little of what she longs for, but all that she needs to start building a better life.
Resilient Ruin: A memoir of hopes dashed and reclaimed is a deeply moving personal story. It pops with details of American life in the sixties and seventies and takes readers on a rocky but ultimately inspiring journey. If you like tales with brave, unaffected heroines; striking scenes and characters; and pacing that keeps you turning page after page, you’ll love Laura McHale Holland’s masterful memoir of survival and learning to forgive.
About Laura McHale Holland (Santa Rosa, California Author)
Whether penning a memoir, editing an anthology, writing flash fiction or telling stories live, Laura McHale Holland’s aim as an artist is to engage people and touch them in ways that matter. Resilient Ruin: A memoir of hopes dashed and reclaimed, Laura’s fourth published book, is a coming of age memoir.
Her first memoir, Reversible Skirt, recounts from a tender child’s point of view the dire consequences of a mother’s suicide compounded by a father’s desperate actions in the aftermath. The Ice Cream Vendor’s Song is an edgy, thought provoking collection of very short fiction. The anthology Sisters Born, Sisters Found: A Diversity of Voices on Sisterhood contains work from 76 writers representing every continent except Antarctica.
Laura’s other writing has appeared in several anthologies, as well as a number of magazines and newspapers. Two of her short plays have been produced in Sonoma County, where she lives with her husband and their two tiny, rambunctious dogs.
To learn more, visit lauramchaleholland.com, where you can receive a free ebook of punchy, short-short stories available only to her newsletter subscribers.