Introducing Bitzy's Story

Originally published October 28, 2022

This week has been exceptionally busy getting out my Author’s One-Page newsletter called ‘A Bird Song’ and then doing a television interview about my new book, Bitzy’s Story: Healing the Pain of Silence, with an old friend from my Webmaster Days. I debated trying to write something new today for this blog and then realized most of you don’t get my Author’s One Page. So forgive me if any of this is a repeat.

It has taken almost thirty years to birth this book with much poor advice, rewrites, and rejections. When I sent it out to publishers twenty-plus years ago, it came back with rejections. Toward the end, I got some notes saying it would not sell as the first book from an unknown author written, although for adults, in the child’s voice. It went into the closet. And when my husband, Sy, died suddenly, to hold myself together, I thought, this is the time to write the first book. That book was A Bird and the Dragon: Their Love Story: A Memoir.

Now my little girl is telling her story! Imagine my surprise when these were the first book reviews on Amazon.com. I will share parts of those reviews here:

This is a book – a story – that is at once enthralling, poignant, and instructive. It’s the story of events from the early childhood of the author but told from the perspective of “Bitzy,” an alter-ego whom JessieMay (the author) is able to summon from “within” her mirror for her own self-therapy. Bitzy recalls episodes of JessieMay’s young life, which were traumatic or hurtful, and which she had in no small degree repressed. That is, until Bitzy forces JessieMay to confront them. Each event is confronted, chapter by chapter. JessieMay, a licensed Jungian therapist, confronts these memories, analyzes each of them in the follow-on sub-chapters, and explains how they affected her later life.

The narrative was a story told by a little girl, Bitzy (a five-year-old), about the sadness and trauma she experienced as her life effectively shut down due to rheumatic fever. At age five, she was told she would have to spend a long time in bed, not even getting up to go to the bathroom. Obviously, “a long time” is not a concept easily understood at that age. As she tells her story, you are drawn into her feelings of isolation and loneliness, not to mention boredom. Your heart breaks for her as she listens to her family downstairs eating supper and socializing together while she is alone in her tiny bedroom. What child, or even adult for that matter, would not have felt abandoned? Because of the excellent commentary and analysis in the chapter notes entitled “Looking Through my Therapist Eyes,” I would recommend this book to all parents of young children. Very helpful insights into how young children think, as well as how they feel, are explored. Ms. Kessler’s suggestions on how Bitzy’s mother might have responded differently could be used as a guide for all parents.

Several experiences in Bitzy’s Story resonated with my own experiences as a child bringing back memories of the events and a better understanding of why they occurred.

I hope these reviews encourage you to order Bitzy’s Story from Amazon.com and read it to find something that resonates with your life experience. If you do read the book, please do a review on Amazon.com. Don’t worry about it being perfect; just visit with me. Those book reviews encourage other readers to buy. Remember, I’m still a new writer for most of the reading public, and I need a good word.

And if you are not friends with me on Facebook, you missed this announcement. The television podcast of my reviewing, Bitzy’s Story, will air this Sunday evening, at 7:30, on Channel 24 in eastern Connecticut. If you are not local, you should be able to find it on YouTube under ‘Stories Worth Telling.’

If you want to receive my newsletter, ‘A Bird Song,’ contact me here or through my personal email [email protected]. I will need your name and a valid email address. Be sure to mention this is for ‘A Bird Song.’ This is the logo you will see on ‘A Bird Song.’