Black Swan Preview

A little girl and her daddy go into the woods to pick a bouquet of wildflowers. They follow a path all the way to the brook where they are immersed in the richness of the forest. Daddy walks the little girl across a log and onto an island in the water. He lifts her up and sets her atop a giant rock. “You stay here,” he says, “and I’ll go pick us some huckleberries for lunch.”

The little girl clasps her hands. “Don’t go far, Daddy,” she pleads. “I won’t,” promises the daddy. He makes his way back across the log and into the forest as the little girl studies the back of his red shirt to keep track of him. He is momentarily hidden, first behind this tree and then behind that. Suddenly there is no sign of red at all.

Perched atop the giant rock on the island, the little girl begins calling to her daddy, hoping he is right nearby only teasing her. “Daddy, I’m here,” she calls. “Daddy, where are you?” But after a while, she can’t hold back her terror. She screams into the forest with all her might. But the forest is silent.

As night falls the little girl is frozen with fright on the cold hard rock. She is aware of the slithering sounds of snakes and other woodland animals creeping about. She tries not to move. She doesn’t want to alert the creatures to her position high atop the rock. But soon she succumbs to terror once again. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,” she cries into the now pitch-black darkness. “Mommy! Daddy!” But the forest remains distinctly silent except for the menacing sounds of the animals lurking about. Continued…

BLACK SWAN, one of the books about abandonment, is a form of book therapy — you gain emotional benefit by reading and enjoying the story. Afterward, the text serves as a reference for the TWELVE STEPS OF EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL HEALING — the actual steps involved in overcoming the loss of a love. You learn to discover your center, cleanse your abandonment wound, build your sense of self, and make a connection to love.