Shela's Turbulent Journey: C'est la vie

This is Shela’s day, the one she’s been working toward for many years. She graduates with a PhD; she’s now a psychologist. But her feelings of accomplishment come with an underlying sense of sadness. She lost the love of her life six years ago, her brother is in a coma, and there’s a dysfunctional feeling to her family. On this special day, Shela takes a look back at how this came to be.

She likens her life journey to that of a turbulent roller-coaster ride. When she was twelve years old, her family immigrated to the United States from Haiti, and this move from her birth country left her feeling confused. As a victim of rape, xenophobia, domestic violence, and a lonely childhood, Shela was forced to grow up before her time. But her many trials and tribulations provided the impetus and motivation to move ahead.

A coming-of-age novel, Shela’s Turbulent Journey narrates this young woman’s story as she searches for love, identity, direction, and a meaning in her life.