A novelette from the award-winning author of The Fall of Lilith and Son of the Serpent, Vashti Quiroz-Vega.Who can explain how madness begins?This is the story of Emma. Reared by a religious fanatic, orphaned at a young age and sent to a mental institution and an orphanage. Molested and betrayed by the people who should be watching over her… no logic?
During a fight, Emma’s best friend punched her in the abdomen. Since then, Emma has believed there’s something damaged inside of her.
Every month… she bleeds.
She tries to fight it all her life, but the pain and the blood return twenty-eight days later… and the cycle begins again.
But Emma, even in her madness, knows how to take care of herself.
She knows how to make things right…
You may not agree…
But, who can reason with insanity?
Read this tragic but fascinating tale and traverse the labyrinthine passages of madness.
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Memoir of a Mad Woman by Vashti Quiroz Vega is an aggressive and intrepid comment on parenting and childcare, which goes a long way in molding children into responsible individuals. Even orphanages should have a responsibility to foster care with assiduity.
This is a horrific, dark and gripping tale, told from the point of view of a teenager who doesn’t know how to react to the brutalities around her. Emma, who grows up without any love or affection is betrayed at each step of her life, even by her only friend.
Vashti could enter the mind of the protagonist to articulate her agonies so well that it would wrench out your heart. It is so fast paced that I couldn’t put it down till I had finished it. I was shocked at the sordid details of Emma’s distressing life. A difficult story that I couldn’t forget to analyze for many days.
In Memoir of a Mad Woman, Vashti Quiroz-Vega writes about the horrible experiences Emma went through. After her father left and mother was burned to death, she was placed in an orphanage. There was a time when Emma had a crush on a male teacher, had a girlfriend and even wanted to plan a birthday party for a female teacher. Her mental stage didn’t indulge her good feeling for too long before the cruelty of an institution inflicted upon her. The physical, emotional and sexual abuse ripped her apart and her only friend betrayed her. She was the loneliest soul in the orphanage while the director, male nurse and other adult ignored each other’s crime done to her. To a fifteen years old poor girl with no friends and no adult guidance, the bursting impulse pushed her to the edge of vengeance.
Vega in this short story exposes the dark side of reality which doesn’t come to surface easily. It’s an engaging quick read provoking emotion. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys dark and horror stories.
Review left at http://www.kesterfin.com
There truly aren’t enough adjectives to describe the emotions this writer portrays in this heart-wrenching memoir. Told through the eyes of a tortured soul, Quiroz-Vega takes you on the journey of Emma, starting with her lack of parenting, through the horrible atrocities brought against her, in an orphanage, filled with back-stabbing friends and out of control adults, then finally, to Emma’s solutions to the problems.
The imagery in this story is spectacular. This is a very dark tale, one I found so riveting, I could not stop reading it. I have to admit, there were times I was cheering for this poor child, and at the same time, admonishing her for not taking the proper course to solving her dilemmas. I won’t go any further, except to say, I highly recommend this book. This is my first read by Vashti Quiroz-Vega, but it certainly will not be my last!!
Admittedly, this is my first book with this accomplished and uncompromising storyteller. It will not be my last.
Author Vashti Quiroz-Vega introduces you to Emma, gains your sympathy for this misguided girl, then displays the layers of horror. She masterfully crafts this tale of blood, trauma, and unimaginable psychological cruelty at the hands of protectors.
Flirting with friendship, mutual support, and education, Emma’s life is exposed in this fast-paced fall into horror. Quiroz-Vega delivers a no-holds-barred approach to creating a terrifying set of characters to set the wheels in motion for Emma’s fate.
The first hint of foreshadowing is delivered early on the escalation to terror.
She claimed I was different and special. I didn’t want to be special––at least not my mother’s brand of special.
After she would tell me how different I was, I’d inevitably end up peering at myself in the mirror for hours, searching for this distinctiveness of which she spoke. I never did see anything out of the ordinary. The only thing I saw was an average girl. I even behaved like an ordinary girl, although my friends occasionally told me I was weird just for laughs. I didn’t think much of it; after all, everybody is peculiar in some way, right?
It was plenty bad to lose my father, but more cruelty was yet to come. When I was eleven years old, our house caught on fire. I had nothing to do with it. I managed to escape the scorch of the flames, but my mother burnt to death in her bedroom. I survived the inferno…
This is a book that will haunt you long after you read the last page. The dark coming of age story will not let you put it down. If you are a fan of the gripping, edge of your seat, praying for salvation horror, then this story is for you.