ABSTRACT
This chapter offers useful insights about the darker phases in a woman's life. The darkness is harsh, but it always gives way to the light. All women experience this bleakness at some time in their lives. Some women 'put on a happy face' but this is mental suicide, for they risk losing themselves by denying their internal reality. Women's special difficulties the hideous evolutionary restraint of our fears, self-doubt, busyness, and tendency to always put others first are intelligently addressed by a woman who has clearly found her way through these obstacles. Writing can be an 'exorcism' since the writing process helps to document the anger, fear, and disappointment that a woman feels. Allowing one to record those feelings serves as a powerful alternative to self-destruction through silence, drinking, or other abuses. It is no wonder that negative voices halt a woman's writing; they attack her self-esteem and confidence, empower her fears, and preside over her in most insidious ways.
