All The Write Stuff: Chickadee’s Journey:

A Journey of Murder, Addiction, and Healing

Chickadee’s Journey:

A Journey of Murder, Addiction, and Healing

by Victoria Christine

Genre: Literary Fiction

Emma has a life most people would trade for: a beautiful home, a loving husband, and two wonderful daughters. But most nights, she goes to bed hoping not to wake up the next morning. Pills and alcohol are the only ways she can cope with a childhood filled with abuse, ending the day she left at fifteen after her mother held her at gunpoint.

Now, the woman who caused her so much pain is dead. Emma returns to her childhood home and finds her mother’s journal. As she reads, her anger slowly begins to melt away as the years of abuse finally begin to make sense...

EXCERPT

The past few months of binge drinking have ravaged my body. My frame is too thin. I’m pale with dark circles around my once captivating, blue eyes. The skin hangs off my sharp, round cheekbones. My hair, still bundled in a nest, has lost its luster.

I wince at the woman staring back at me.

It’s my mother.

The visual shock, paired with the present nausea causes my knees to buckle. My head is swimming, and I’m sure that I’m about to throw up, blackout, or both. So, I sit down and press my back against the cold tile next to the toilet trying to ignore the steady stream of tears. I struggle to catch my breath, but I only end up sobbing harder.

I want to scream at my mother, to ask her why. Why she threw her entire life away? I want to ask her why she wasn’t enough. Mostly, I want to erase the last couple of years because I know my own daughters will have similar questions.

My stomach is still in knots, and I’m blindsided by the piercing headache that comes on without warning. I reach for my shoulder bag in search for a new bottle of Excedrin. My hands are shaking, and I’m only able to grab the corner of the bag, sending the contents reeling all over the bathroom floor.

I scramble to pick up the fallen items, and the task takes my mind off of the queasiness. I’m finally able to move around with ease, and I gather up the bag, tossing in the toiletries until everything is put away.

I’m careful to check all the pockets, and I slip my hand down into the front zipper. Then the side, then the other. In the last pocket, I find a single slip of paper. I don’t even have to think about it.

I know it’s another letter from Jansen, and I brace myself against the wall as I begin to read.

You’re upstairs sleeping right now. You’ve been through so much over the last 24 hours, that most people would give up, but not you. Emma, I woke up so in love with you today. I knew you were the only one for me long before you fell into my life. Hell, it’s like my heart was created for you, not for me. I know this because without you, my world would cease to exist. I don’t know how I’m going to make it without you. Hurry home!

I love you!

Love,

The crying is getting ridiculous. My face is taut from the salty tears, and my lips are swollen. After being numb for so many years, my body is in shock. Every nerve has been hit in a matter of days.

**Only .99cents!!**

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Chickadees-Journey-Murder-Addiction-Healing-ebook/dp/B0DQLYJ9YY

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/chickadee-s-journey-a-journey-of-murder-addiction-and-healing-by-victoria-christine

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222706102-chickadee-s-journey

About the Author

Victoria uses her unconventional pain to fuel her writing muse. This is seen in her new release Chickadee's Journey, a story about Victoria's journey to heal following her abuser/mother's 1997 murder.

Victoria is also an author dedicated to sexy shifters, alpha males, and wild women willing to tame their wicked ways.

She lives in Texas with her very own Bearded Wonder and their two daughters where she helps wrangle life and their five rescue dogs, claiming it’s their world, we just live in it. When she’s not writing, she spends her time taking road trips and going to music festivals with friends and family.

* Victoria does not use or support the use of AI.

Facebook * X * Instagram * Bluesky * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads