I had the wonderful pleasure of reading and reviewing Talia Jager's novel, Damaged: Natalie's Story, which is about a girl who finds herself in an abusive relationship, literally fighting for her life in more ways than one. Because, I thought this was an important issue that needs as much awareness as it can get, I thought it would be wonderful to feature the lovely Talia Jager in a guest post where she speaks about "the why" she writes novels centering around abusive relationships, addictions, and medical conditions.
Needless to say, it was a very enlightening and thoughtful post. So, I hope you guys join me in making her feel welcome, and it moves you in a similar way that it did myself. The review for Damaged will be coming soon, within the next couple of weeks. For now, enjoy the guest post below.
When people find out what I write about, they sometimes ask why in the world I write about depressing topics such as addictions, abusive relationships, or medical conditions. My husband is actually one of these people. I suppose it does take a certain type of person to love my books.
So, what’s the answer, you ask? Why did I start writing about these subjects? Honestly, I’m not sure. As a teen, I enjoyed reading young adult edgy dramas and medical dramas, but there weren’t enough of them. So, I started writing more.
I love drama. I also love the thought that I might be helping someone out there who has one of these problems. I can’t count the number of times I looked for a book as a teen that dealt with one of the problems I was facing. The times when I did find one, I bonded with the characters and I didn’t feel alone anymore. I hope my books reach teens who are looking for that feeling.
Some of my favorite books dealt with a teen facing death, usually because of cancer. I decided to go beyond cancer and wrote about epilepsy, a medical condition not a lot of teens know about. I also wrote about needing a heart transplant. My first eBook is about a teen with a violent boyfriend who finds herself in the hospital after one of his attacks. She has to deal with all the physical and emotional damage that he’s done to her.
Two of my books are a little closer to home. Before I finished writing my epilepsy book, Teagan’s Story, I found out a friend’s daughter had a form of epilepsy and decided to dedicate the book to her. I hope that my book helps create awareness for this condition.
The other book is If I Die Young. Many people in my family have heart problems including one of my daughters and myself. One of my family members is even on the heart transplant list. When I released this book, I matched the sales for the first ten books and donated it to The Children’s Heart Foundation.
I have unfinished books that deal with car accidents, paralysis, pregnancy, drug abuse, cutting, running away – all very challenging subjects to write and read about, but all very important nonetheless.
I guess the answer to the question why do I choose the subjects I write about is to help someone in that situation. If I can help just one person for each book I write, writing the book was worth it.
