By: Marilea C. Rabasa
ISBN: 978-1-63152-898-9
She Writes Press, 2020
Addiction is a stealth predator. Unrecognized, it will grow and flourish. Unchecked, it destroys.
Marilea grew up in post-WWII Massachusetts in a family that lived comfortably and offered her every advantage. But there were closely guarded family secrets. Alcoholism reached back through several generations, and it was not openly discussed. Shame and stigma perpetuated the silence. Marilea became part of this ongoing tragedy.
Her story opens with the death of her mother. Though not an alcoholic, it is her inability to cope with the dysfunction in her life that sets her daughter up for a multitude of problems.
We follow Marilea from an unhappy childhood, to her life overseas in the diplomatic service, to now, living on an island in Puget Sound. What happens in the intervening years is a compelling tale of travel, motherhood, addiction, and heartbreaking loss. The constant thread throughout this story is the many faces and forms of addiction, stalking her like an obsessed lover, and with similar rewards. What, if anything, will free her of the masks she has worn all her life?
Winner of the 2020 Best Book Award, Stepping Stones is a sequel to A Mother’s Story: Angie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
About the Author
Marilea Rabasa is a retired English as a Second Language teacher and author of two award-winning memoirs. She and her partner lived in New Mexico for a decade before moving to an island in Puget Sound. Her third memoir, the last in her recovery trilogy, is a love story she’s writing with her partner about traveling around the United States, Canada, and Europe. It’s scheduled for publication in early 2023. Writing down stories has proven to be a valuable rite of passage for many men and women, and Marilea hopes to teach life-writing to seniors.
To learn more about Marilea C. Rabasa and her work, please see www.recoveryofthespirit.com
