Shadow of Black Within Grey

About the Book

At the end, Ella was viewed as a crack whore, when found in such tragic circumstances, by those who knew little about her. A law student, she was bright and full of life. Married and devoted to the love of her life and their adorable son, she was loved to the end . . . It was one of those unique times when the sheer brutalities of humanity, from every global angle, could be witnessed—evidence that war crimes continue in other disguises. Detroit and its people were trudging through a powerful existential crisis, questioning the very foundations of life and the acts of living. The symptoms of mass neurosis, perpetuating hopelessness deep within its roots, and disparity had been growing—a paradigm of primal survival: eat or be eaten! The once grand Motor City had now all but crumbled. Prosperity had now been replaced with cocaine, crack, heroin, prostitution, and all manner of human slavery—trading bodies, sanity, and souls for food within its many dark alleys for survival. It was an escape from the terrors of the gaping lack of hope, power, and purpose! It’s no wonder then that Ella unwittingly tripped and fell into the fate that became inevitable.

About the Author

Dr. Francis is a professor, researcher and clinical practitioner in logotherapy and existential analysis. She continues her research in human behaviour having published her academic work - The Psychomatrix: a deeper understanding of our Relationship with Pain - in October 2015. Dr. Francis has dedicated her career to pursuing a better understanding of human behavior and mental health. Having trained as an existential psychotherapist, she uses her education, experience, insights and intuition to frame her clinical practice, within a meaning-centered philosophy. Her education spans from achieving a Bachelor of Arts and Social Work at Ryerson University, Toronto, to a Master’s degree in Contemporary Psychoanalysis in 2007 and a Ph.D. in 2011, in the School of Social Sciences at Brunel University, West London UK. Dr. Francis was also awarded a Diploma in Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, through the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy, Dallas, Texas US, in 2009 and is an international faculty member of the Institute. Dr. Francis is the founder and director of the UK as well as the Canada Chapters of Logotherapy - Viktor Frankl’s Psychology. She runs a successful private practice while pursuing new research, writing, teaching and training individuals and groups in Logotherapy and Existential Analysis.