Brenda was born during the “Great Appalachian Storm”, November 1950 (a cyclone that broke all records). Her mother suffered through a long and difficult labor at Saint Joseph Hospital in Buckhannon, West Virginia. Nuns prayed for the young Baptist family. Brenda’s mother was a schizophrenic and her father was an alcoholic. The illnesses of her parents were life-threatening. “There was so much abuse, fear and neglect”. Brenda’s first book “Snippets of Heaven” depicts her adventures on her grandparent’s farm. The farm was a safe, happy place. This book “Glimpses of Hell” recalls stories of a dark, scary life under the “care” of her parents. Brenda has been married three times, in her words “to very different, exciting and interesting men. I learned so much from each of them and loved each of them deeply at some point in time”. “I was blessed to be the mother of four wonderful children. My greatest heartbreak and loss, was, outliving two of them”. Her entire life is in her poetry as there are well over 120 of them. Brenda is an avid exercise enthusiast. She enjoys golfing and shooting sporting clays, both of which she took up in her sixties. She has always enjoyed hiking, swimming, aerobic exercise and weight training. “Sunshine and fresh air are my elixir”. Most recently she has taken up hula hooping. “I laughed so hard at myself when I started hooping at age 65. Laughing is as important as praying in my life, and God has a sense of humor.” “My next book about my three husbands, “Three Shades of Black and White” is filled with God’s sense of humor, and his many blessings”.
Glimpses of Hell
Childhood Journey Through Confusion, Chaos and Fear
by Brenda Ratajczak
Glimpses of Hell
Childhood Journey Through Confusion, Chaos and Fear
by Brenda Ratajczak
Published Mar 11, 2020
223 Pages
Genre: FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Abuse / Child Abuse
Book Details
"Oh no . . I heard something, footsteps."
My first book “Snippets of Heaven” was a joyful retelling of stories on my grandparents’ farm. We were loved, protected and encouraged by our grandparents and their faithful teachings of God. When I was a child under the “care” of my parents, my sister and I were terribly abused. In my second book “Glimpses of Hell” I recall that terrible and heartbreaking childhood abuse. Our parents had issues, mother was schizophrenic, our father alcoholic. They divorced when I was seven. Sis and I escaped the abuse . . . or did we? These stories are a part of who and why we are . . . “It was dark and silent in the closet. How sad that I was okay with dark and silent. It was a reprieve from what it could be. Oh no . . . I heard something, footsteps. There was the sound of a light switch being flicked on.” “Light streamed under the door and through the key-hole. Someone was turning the handle on the closet door. The sound woke my little sister and she immediately started to cry. . . . I wish I could protect my little sister, but I was just one year older. ”