Outskirts Press, INC.

The Will to Overcome and Triumph

Edna Rowell didn’t have a good start in life. She was repeatedly molested by her stepfather when she was just five years old, and her mother refused to protect her, lost in addiction and need for the man who was harming her daughter. After enduring an excruciating childhood, Edna was brutally gang-raped at the age of sixteen, resulting in her first pregnancy. She emerged from these experiences angry and bitter, convinced that nobody would ever love her. Bittersweet is a collection of essays, letters, and poems in which Edna shares not only her struggles, but also her determination to rise above her past. From a young age, Edna knew she didn’t have to be a victim, even though she had no control over her environment. No matter what labels people put on Edna, she wanted to choose who she would be. Bittersweet is a searingly honest, inspiring memoir about learning from mistakes and heartbreak.