Mirrored Reflections by J.F. Ridgley - Adult, Christian Romance
Book Details:
Book Title: Mirrored Reflections by J.F. RidgleyCategory: Adult Fiction (18+) , 418 pages
Genre: Christian Romance
Publisher: R Pride Publishing
Release date: December 2022
Content Rating: PG-13 +M. This is a Christian Romance, no sex. two hot kisses. Lots of trauma but a happy ending. There is a language warning: Chad's debridement is painful, being a burn survivor is painful and the story is about also about sexual trafficking.
Book Description:
Opposites attract and Chad and Sierra are that.
Chad is destroyed on the outside by a suicide bomber while Sierra is broken on the inside by human trafficking. They are each other’s reflection of who they are - beautiful but ravaged by life.
Chad Michaels, an Afghan vet, comes home to a suicide bomber who destroys not only his family but the man he was. Now, he must deal with life as a burn victim -- as a monster. But Sierra sees what a beautiful man Chad truly is.
Not all wounds are flesh. Many are inside one’s soul where Sierra Smith’s scars run deep. Yet, Chad sees the innocence that Sierra fails to see. Kidnapped at the early age of six, Sierra was raised to become a high-end prostitute who now dreams of becoming a nurse...someone who helps heal people not service them. But her past relentlessly haunts her.
Sierra and Chad are determined to help each other heal from their traumas – whatever it takes. And, somehow, with God’s help, they will survive to see a brighter day.
Guest Post by J.F. Ridgley
OUCH!
Yes. It happens. You light a match and burn yourself. You
put butter or ice on it; it blisters,
it pops and go to wash your hand and it’s like burning it all over
again. Or worse, you get a very red sunburn and you put aloe on it, and it
still blisters. The blisters pop, peel, you shower and again, that raw skin
burns like a...well you know.
Or you are a soldier like J.R. Martinez who was caught in a
roadside bomb in Iraq. Or a friend’s son who was wearing a pocketed apron full
of fireworks on a Fourth of July and a fire ember dropped into the apron. Or
the BBQ grill that just won’t light and you pour lighter fluid or gas on it and
Ploom! Now that simple burn is over a
third of your body. And it burned deep...all the way to the bone. (3rd
degree). In these situation, a person’s life is on the line. Many don’t make
it.
What some don’t realize is what the skin does. It is more
than the grocery bag that hold stuff together. Skin insulates and helps control
body temperature, protecting the body from germs. Now without it...it’s not
good. And once damaged or burned, it scars. And in some cases, as J.R., who
lost his ear, or hands that are maligned, or faces that are ‘realigned’.
These burns become more than physical. It’s now emotional.
Even though the burn survivor is the same person, they don’t see themselves the
same. That first confrontation after the burn is usually negative. “Who will
love me now?” AS for Chad, “I’m a monster. A freak!” Their identity has changed. The problem for
some survivors is simply going out into the world and the world look at them.
J.R Martinez with Karina Smirnoff won Dancing with the
Stars. They were so sexy that you forgot that he is a burn survivor. I
believe, in that, they did more for burn survivors than most realize. That is
part of my story in Mirrored Reflections...Chad’s struggles to survive
his ‘new you’ that he hates. It’s a reminder of what happened every time he
looks in the mirror. He struggles to realize he is the same beautiful person
who survived a horrid catastrophe. It
takes Chad a long time to agree with J.R. Martinez. “Scars are tattoos with better
stories.”
Groups like Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors help
burn survivors get back into society. Why that seems strange is because
children or grownups don’t see the person, they see the scars. And it scars
them. The struggle to survive is hard
enough, so understanding what these burn survivors go through to just survive,
is so important. We need to take time to learn their stories and journey. Be sure to visit Phoenix Society to learn more about how they
do help everyone dealing with burns, whether you are or not. https://www.phoenix-society.org/
Tags: #burnsandrecovery
#burnsurvivors #burnaccidents #mirroredreflections #jfridgley #healing
and scaring. #j.r.martinez, #dianelangburg # Annie Lobert # Lisa J Peck
Meet the Author:
Sounds really good
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fantastic book! I love the cover! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the guest post.
ReplyDelete