A Daughter’s Quest for Truth
Coming soon:
Carina Rourke is an American growing up in blissful innocence in the Middle East. Until, seized by an obsessive desire to open her mother’s forbidden jewelry box, she discovers a shocking family secret. On the heels of Carina’s discovery, the family embarks on her father’s dream to travel almost four thousand miles across the Arabian Desert. Their eventful trip, that includes eleven countries and thirty-seven cities, becomes a metaphoric journey for the woman Carina becomes—a silent nomad in search of answers in the shifting winds. When they reach Paris, the city’s temptations engulf her. French pastries become a dangerous addiction and an accomplice in silence. And so does the love of a mysterious Tunisian. Many years later, as a married mother in Holland, Carina draws on her father’s wisdom to finally confront the family secret to heal herself and her family.
My story is a journey toward joy of self, a courageous journey of truth and compassion, but more of expressing self with courage, honor and truth and ultimately celebrating SELF (perhaps even the divine in all of us).
I take the reader on an exotic and intriguing physical journey through the Middle East and Europe that serves as a metaphor for my personal coming of age while striving to overcome the shock of betrayal by those I trusted the most. Rather than a prescribed formula for happiness and success, I share through example my own victory toward “celebrating self”. Where many other books teach, I lead, where other books tell, I show.
Excerpt:
I had just come in from our backyard; my ritual as I plopped down on the fragrant freshly mowed grass with my back against our protective six-foot tall weathered grayish picket fence. Inhaling the tantalizing aroma of grape vines, I found it difficult to resist stopping after eating just one grape-stuffed my mouth full of plump blue ones-those were no ordinary grapes they were Concord grapes, whose vines permeated the entire rear fence. Mouthful after mouthful of plump sweet grapes, I found it hard to stop but all too easy to have become intoxicated.
“You’re just in time—come sit with us in the kitchen,” she said, smiling. Dad and I have some news we’d like to discuss with you and Dennis. Mom was slanted back against a Colonial Captain’s wood chair resting her right elbow on the chair’s arm—hands clasped in her lap. Leaned back into the other captain’s chair, with interlocked hands behind his head, Dad threw Dennis and me a wink. Furrowing my forehead, I plunked myself into the last chair of the set next to Dennis, who sat Indian style and twirled his red toy bomber plane.
“Du, Dennis and Carina, we are going to have to move to another country for my job. My boss wants me — wants us — to move to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia—another country, far away from here—for two years, Dad proudly beamed from ear to ear. “I need to go for three months. Du, then you, Carina and Dennis could take a plane to join me later.”
Mom gasped, smiling with wide-open blue eyes.
Dad took out the Atlas and pointed to the map showing us where Saudi Arabia was located. Mom and Dad exchanged smiles over what was about to take place in our life glancing at one another. I tucked my chin in towards my chest, squinted my eyes and curled my lower lip over my upper lip. I didn’t want to leave all my friends. Nor did I want to leave Cleveland Elementary School or my best friend, Cindy Pratt.