Distant Turns
A Novel about Abuse Survival
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Tina Perry has survived an abusive childhood with her traumatized Holocaust survivor parents. Now, she has completed college and as a social worker hopes to find herself and put her difficult past behind her by helping others. She leaves her lifelong Queens, New York home for a change in life and initially moves to Florida for a job. However, a better opportunity soon takes Tina across the country to Los Angeles, a huge step for her, since she has never been far from home before. It is there that her life undergoes an almost complete change, when she meets the charismatic popular pianist, Artie Diaz. He and his family are refugees from the 1970s Argentine Guerra Sucia, the Dirty War, and their lives have been embroiled with torture, despair and drama. Tina gets swept off her feet through Artie’s charm and manipulative love bombing. She also feels pity for him and his family. As their relationship develops, Artie reveals himself to be a typical narcissist, who is unaffected by others and resorts to gaslighting and other defensive techniques to manipulate Tina and obtain total control. Yet in spite of her situation, Tina gradually becomes resilient and copes with her tumultuous life and losses of family and friends through her Jewish heritage and faith for comfort. However, when she finally leaves Artie and is faced with violence, she flees with their youngest daughter Sarah back to Florida. With a restraining order and their hidden location, Tina finally starts to feel safe until Artie discovers their whereabouts. After some initial rebuffs to Artie's email reconciliation attempts, Tina must face who she is, and what has to be done in the face of mortal danger, while she also deals with mysteries stemming from her own family and discovers secrets which shake her very identity.
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About the Book
Tina Perry often wonders how she got to this place in life. The only child of dysfunctional Holocaust concentration camp survivors, Tina learned early to have low expectations. Feeling unworthy of love or acceptance, and although she excels at almost everything, she thinks she is nothing special. When Tina moves to Los Angeles for a new job, she meets Artie Diaz, a charismatic but narcissistic pianist, whose family fled the Argentine Dirty War. Artie showers her with love and affection, something no one had ever done for her, and Tina falls in love. A quarter century and three children later, Tina flees with their teenaged daughter Sarah and drives across the country to start a new life away from his abuse. Tina copes with life and through her Jewish roots, she uncovers hidden dark secrets about her family’s past. She also wonders if she and her daughter will ever feel secure again, but when she discovers that Artie knows their location, she fears for her life and for Sarah's safety. Artie's sociopathy makes him capable of anything without remorse, and Tina realizes she could lose everything to this man … again.
About the Author
Marie Hammerling grew up in Long Beach, NY, the daughter of Holocaust survivors and endured a narcissistic marriage. She has a B.S. in music therapy from Duquesne University and an M.S. in communications from Ohio University. Marie worked for many years for the government with mentally and physically disabled clients. Over the years, she was a freelance writer and has published many nonfiction articles. This is her debut novel. She is also a cellist and photographer and lives in Central Florida with her wonderful second husband, two cats, dog and pet turtle.