S.O.S Sink or Swim
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“I told you, you can run but you can’t hide. “ Now I see his face and I panic. It's Jared! As I struggle to twist myself free from his grasp on my wrist, my heart is pounding hard. Boom! Boom! I turn around and I see that the church is now a cemetery and the guests are corpses, laughing and pointing at me. I hear his voice like an echo, mine forever, mine forever. ‘No-oo-oo-o,’ I am awakened by my own screams and realize that I’m alone in bed. I’m sweaty and my heart is beating out of my chest. Then I remember that I am actually in California, in a hotel room, and safe, at least for now. I get out of bed and go to the bathroom, splash water on my face to wake myself up and also to erase the nightmare as I said to myself, ‘You’ll be ok Hannah. You just need to let the past go.’ A couple of days later I went to apply for an apartment. When I didn't have a social security number the landlord quickly said “If you don’t have a social security number, there is no need for you to fill out the application. We cannot accept anyone without one. I am sorry Hannah.” “Not as sorry as I am, but thank you anyway.” I whispered as I turned my back to him and got in the waiting cab. On the way back to the hotel, my tears start to fall and this time I let them. No room, no money and no hotel! I was officially homeless now. Just like the lady at McDonalds last night, but this is MY life. When I got back to the hotel I did my best to put myself together, dry my tears and pretend I was calm, but it wasn't easy at all.
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About the Book
S.O.S Sink or Swim is about Hannah and her struggle how to start over in a new country after escaping a lifetime of domestic violence. Hannah’s journey began in her family-home back in Sweden and her first book “Damned if I Do, Dead if I Don’t” telling the story of years of terror. When Hannah finally finds the strengths to leave her fiancé and the horrible abuse to save her life, she thought to herself “I’m just going to erase my past and start over”. But Hannah realized quickly that life doesn’t work that way. The lies she had heard, the punches and kicks Hannah had received her whole life, had gone deep down and wounded her soul so bad. She had to start from the beginning, not just with money, job and somewhere to live, but with everything. Hannah had to learn to trust herself, to trust others enough to ask for help, to be able to build a new life. But most important, Hannah had to find herself again, find that strong woman she knew she really was. It was harder than Hannah could ever imagine but she knew there were only two choices, Sink Or Swim.
About the Author
Hannah Bonde was born in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1970. Her father, a Finnish native and with a Swedish mother, she became a woman of character and Hannah learned the true meaning of survival and sacrifice. At the age of fifteen she met the one she believed would be the love of her life. Fifteen years later the once love of her life had become someone to be feared rather than loved. After enduring constant verbal and physical abuse Hannah managed to escape from the grasp of her soon would be husband. In 1999, she found herself at Los Angeles International Airport with almost no money,no home and no family or friends. Absent creature comforts and plan for her future, she kept moving forward with the hope of a better life just over the horizon. Hannah managed to start from scratch, build a new life for herself, working for the rich and famous. Her passion for helping other abused women compelled Hannah to share her story in hopes that it will give other women the courage to free themselves from their own private hell as she did hers.