Trauma Raised Me: From the Ashes I Rise

By Mary White

"Trauma Raised Me: From the Ashes I Rise" chronicles the life of a woman shaped by the violent streets of South Central Los Angeles in the 90s. Facing abandonment and heartache from an early age, she is thrust into the harsh realities of the foster care system, where she endures severe challenges. As she fights to reclaim her li

• Language: English
• Publisher: Young at Heart Publishing LLC.
• Release date: Jun 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9798330226436

Mary White

Mary E.White died in 2018

Book preview

Trauma Raised Me

Trauma Raised Me

Trauma Raised Me

From the Ashes I Rise

Mary White

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Young at Heart Publishing LLC.

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

One In The Beginning

Two Death and Mayhem

Three Mischievous Ways

Four Triggered

Five The Sacrifice

Six Ambushed

Seven Grieving

Eight Homeless

Nine Looking For Love

Ten Enough is Enough

Eleven Anger

Twelve Feeling Accomplished

Thirteen A New Beginning

Choose to Live!

Authors Letter to Women

photo insert

About The Author

Copyright © 2024 by Mary White

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Printing, 2024

This book is dedicated to my husband, Michael Meza, and children, Toneisa,

Tony Jr., Ebony, Isaiah’s baby boy, Lataneisa, and my

ten grandchildren and future ones.

 I want to send my love and appreciation to you all.

 God bless you with a good future

and a successful life.

God gives us many blessings to cherish.

Love you!

Acknowledgements

Carolyn Lewis – Thank you for taking me in as your daughter. I appreciate all of the love you have shown me and my husband. I love you. Rest in Heaven.

 Pastor Mirian Cooper- Thank you for mentoring me for the past 30 years. I appreciate and love you.

Thank you, Pastors Adrian and Angela Goodlow, for having the church doors open so I could have a safe place to run during my abusive years. Your love and kindness nurture me.

To my Chief Apostle and spiritual father, Michael Rowles, thank you for being my shepherd and watching over my soul.

You are not a victim for sharing your story. You are a survivor setting the world on fire with your truth. And you never know who needs your light, your warmth, and raging courage. - Alex Elle

One

In The Beginning

Born in 1972, I grew up during the 80s and 90s in South Central LA, an era marked by rampant gun violence and gang conflicts. Wearing the wrong color in certain neighborhoods could be a death sentence. Tragically, this violence claimed the lives of people around me, including friends. The era's most iconic movies, Colors and Boyz n the Hood, depicted the harsh realities of my youth with striking accuracy.

As a child, I was known for my mischief as well as my sharp discernment. My feelings towards people were transparent; I couldn't feign affection where it didn't exist. My forthright demeanor only grew stronger over time. Picture a personality shaped by neglect, mistreatment, and unresolved anger. I became an indomitable presence. My early years, starting at the tender age of two, marked the beginning of my transient life through foster homes. I would walk around, fingers in my mouth, clutching a security blanket that eventually became so dirty it was taken from me, leaving me devastated. I remember I cried so much over that blanket. In one of the foster homes where I stayed, I remember this woman who visited; I