Mother in Name Only

Book excerpt: Mother in Name Only is the transparent, sometimes painful, and always poignant portrait of Myrna Kaye-held inside for almost her entire life. She is a modern, educated woman who confesses her innermost reflections on a life sculpted in the '50s and '60s. Broken family bonds stalk her into adulthood, as a twice-violated wife and mother of three sons, one born during marriage but out of wedlock. The order by her husband to give him up for adoption and other harrowing secrets ticked like time bombs through the decades. Her fairy-tale reunion with one son after thirty-five years is interrupted by the nightmare same-night distancing of her other two sons. Through yoga, meditation, and personal growth practices, Myrna makes peace with a violent past and a mother's struggle with loving her children so much, enough to let them go. Healing complicated grief, overwhelming depression, and unspeakable loss through self-forgiveness, she is liberated. Discovering her Higher Power through Twelve-Step programs, Myrna saves herself, recovers superwoman strength, and triumphs in her spirituality.