The Darker Side of Light
by Obsidian (patricia)
Depression is a fragmenting of the body, mind and soul. My journey through this particular darkness brought many things to the light. To walk this path is to understand death on an intimate level along with pain, fear, and isolation. I was made to feel like a disease with a shameful secret.
I do not feel that way today. Lacking the basic understanding of a damaged soul, Western medicine made feeble attempts to “cure” me, but never once in the long years of doctors and hospitals did anyone ever attempt to help me heal.
Instead, I chose a different path. When I began to release the inner terrors through writing, the fragmented pieces began to draw together. Over time, the tapestry of my life has woven itself into a magnificent masterpiece. May you raise a candle to the darkness and revel in the light.
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ISBN: 1-4137-4604-7, 51 pages, 6 x 9
Southern Winters
Starlight spills
Silvery strands,
Slips seductively through silence.
Nestled in brass
the candle flickers .
Slowly encircles the fallen quill with starry shadows formed of inky wax .
The writer sleeps.
only the moonflowers are awake,
perfuming the night with exotic fragrance
to scent the writers dreams .
The Darker Side of Light by Obsidian
My first full length publication is a collection of poetry and prose describing my healing journey .
It is available through www.publishamerica.com
http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes
and the following online book stores:
www.barnesandnoble.com
www.borders.com
www.booksamillion.com
www.amazon.com
You may search for it by title or by my author pen name of Obsidian.
PRESS RELEASE: Frederick, MD January 8, 2007 – Publish America is proud to present “The Darker Side of Light”, by Obsidian, living in Andalusia, Alabama. In this masterfully written collection of poetry, readers are allowed a glimpse into the heart of Obsidian, who battled depression’s attempts to fragment her body, mind and soul. This led to a journey through darkness, an intimate level of understanding of death, pain, fear and isolation.
“When I began to release the inner terrors through writing, the fragmented pieces began to draw together,” Obsidian said. “Over time, the tapestry of my life has woven itself into a magnificent masterpiece.”
A Cancer/Gemini born on midsummer’s night eve, Obsidian came into the world with a deep passion for plants, ancient civilizations, and writing. All three remain a powerful inspiration in her life.
You will find the below reviews on amazon.com and I would be delighted if you would add your own.
Customer Reviews
To the core with a word, February 23, 2007
Reviewer: Sandra E. Franklin - See all my reviews
The depth of this author is evident in reading just a few words of her writing. She is able to go to the core with a single word. Insightful and thoughtful, with iconic images that last for hours after reading. I do not ususally like poety but this is exceptional. Her words are spiritual gold and I love the title!
REVIEW TWO
Healing Journey”
G.L. Giles’s Review of Obsidian’s The Darker Side Of Light
(available for purchase at www.barnesandnoble.com)
I love both the lyrical wordsmithing and stark wielding of truly helpful information that The Darker Side of Light exposes. Though Obsidian admittedly struggled with depression and drug addiction, this book is also for those who haven't, for everyone must face their demons in the darker regions to allow the light to shine its very brightest. If one allows fear to stop one on their journey into the dark, then one will feel only stagnation and quiet desperation later. Perhaps Obsidian expresses this best in the lines from 'Spirit's Song of Flight,' for she says:
Flight into night/
Into light./
Into sacred sight/
A caged bird does shatter her wings/
I found that I was holding my breath reading most of 'The Dark Places' 'the first section after the PROLOGUE' as I felt I was tugged under dangerous waters for the journey to the underworld. The place where demons dance, and madness and the sublime marry. I'd been there myself, so I could remember and relate:'' Obsidian's rendering made it more bearable as she throws the Reader an oxygen tank of sorts in the form of beautifully wrought words as she breathes the madness through one quickly before it has time to settle in the brain.
I was happy to reemerge on the surface again with 'In the Dawn.' As, indeed, Obsidian too, somewhat ironically, emerges with more depth as a writer now, through experience and understanding, in this second section: she's no longer a craftsman; she's now an artist who can bring to light some of the dark sublime. This idea is presented in the third poem of the 'In the Dawn' section entitled 'SEA FOAM.' Even the title shows the cleansing connotations of a past life discarded.
However, it's not until the final section entitled 'In the Garden' that spontaneous joy is seen, erupting and abounding, truly unfettered by any vestiges of depression. I loved the play on words in 'IN THE MIDNIGHT GARDEN' with lines like 'almost thyme for Moonflower to wake up' and 'the Queen scent them away.'
What a wonder-full journey to be taken on.
G.L. Giles, Author of V3 and V2:B4
What words cannot describe..., March 2, 2008
By W. Johns III "Driftman" - See all my reviews
The Darker Side of Light is an exceptional journey through the corridors of life that so many are afraid to step into.
To be able to paint pictures with words is a skill so few have, and the caliber of which Obsidian has is simply untouchable. The vivid imagery and descriptions of the side of life so few are able to tread are, for lack of a better word, genius.
If I could recommend any book to have in your library, this is the one that is a must have.