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Behind the Masked Smile: A Survivor’s Quest for Love is a poetic memoir that lays bare the truth hidden behind years of masked smiles. In this deeply personal collection of autobiographical essays, original artwork, and over 180 poems spanning three decades, Isabella Rose breaks her silence, revealing the raw and painful realities of trauma, abuse, and addiction. With courage and vulnerability, she shares her journey from darkness to healing, from searching for love in all the wrong places to discovering the power of self-love, faith, and freedom. More than a book—it’s a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a beacon of hope for those still fighting to rise.
From Trauma to Trimuph
In her poetic memoir, Behind the Masked Smile, author Isabella Rose takes off her mask of smiles to reveal the innermost world of a survivor of trauma and abuse. Breaking silence, she invites the reader into the real world behind the mask of happiness and into the raw, painful moments of her past that led her to a transformational healing journey of love, hope, faith, and freedom. In this collection of autobiographical essays, original artwork, and 184 short poems (written over a 30-year span, beginning when she was only 14 years old), she shares a life story that is moving, oftentimes harrowing, and ultimately inspiring.
Growing up in the “perfect” dysfunctional alcoholic family made Isabella’s world a scary and unsafe place from the start. She was told at a young age to silence her voice about what went on in the family home while trying so hard to gain the love, acceptance, and approval she needed. Raped at fourteen, she began a battle with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Always appearing happy and bubbly, she hid well the pain and torment she suffered. As Isabella grew older, she followed in the footsteps of her mother along the path of trauma and abuse laid out by generations of ancestors before her. In this book, she shares the confusion, betrayal, abandonment, being in love with a substance user, and becoming one herself in her search for love and acceptance.
For years, her journey seemed to be leading to a dark place, until one day, she knew something had to change. Praying for the courage and strength she needed to take back her power, she learned to love herself and rise above the trauma she had experienced. Yet it was the trauma, abuse, and addiction she battled alone in silence that ultimately led her to a triumph of faith, love, healing, and a life of freedom—a life she loves, a life where she is making her dreams come true.
"This book of personal essays and poetry following the incredible transitional life of the author is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and offers hope where there seems to be none.”
~ Jessica Lucci
5% of profits from this book's sales will be donated to Janie's Fund.
Rave Reviews
Margaret Annie Price
In Behind the Masked Smile, Isabella shares with heartfelt authenticity the emotional, physical, and sexual trauma of her young life--the ongoing challenges of finding real love, overcoming substance abuse, and ultimately, discovering the power of self-love. She includes an intimate collection of poems from her early teen years and beyond, in an expression of the turmoil that surrounded her. The challenges described are familiar to many people yet may be difficult to acknowledge and ask for help. Isabella is a gifted healer of several modalities, and her book is truly an inspiration. I love her joyful heart, powerful spirit, and her message that we are never alone!
M.LPC
A riveting true-life tale of moving through intense darkness into the light. Isabella shows the raw, exposed wounds left by abuse through her poetry and writings, and gorgeously shows the way toward wellness. The story begins with the pain of childhood leading to death wishes for herself and moves toward Isabella beginning to open up to the possibility of a different life. With the poem “Who Is She?” Isabella simultaneously highlights her lost self and expresses openness to discovering who she really is. Perhaps my favorite line in the whole book is not part of a poem, though her poems reflect the essence of it: “Victory came when I stopped looking outside of myself and found love, acceptance, and approval of myself.” I don’t know a better resolution to a hero’s journey than that.
Lisa Anna Palmer
Isabella takes us through her raw, intimate, and profound inner journey of how she processed painful
traumatic events in her life.
Oftentimes when we see people who have been through extensive trauma go about their daily lives, we forget that what we see on the outside doesn't necessarily convey the deep hurt they are experiencing. Isabella gives us a rare opportunity to take a peek behind the mask into the heart and mind of a woman who has lived through rape, physical abuse, and profound loss and injury. She moves and inspires us by using her gifts to rise above it all through her life's work as a writer, poet, and intuitive healer.
Isabella had the courage to drop her mask so that others who may be going through difficult times no they are not alone in your pain. She also reminds readers to look beyond the surface and have compassion for people who have had to live through deeply painful internal experiences.
I highly recommend Isabella's book to anyone who wants to better understand the effects of trauma on a personal level and to be inspired by Isabella's story of how she transformed from victim to victor.
Behind the Masked Smile Book Trailer
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