Friday, May 22, 2020

Journey of an Unraveled Road

Journey of an Unraveled Road Paperback – May 17, 2020


"Journey of an Unraveled Road" reveals the journey of a woman plagued by childhood trauma and her uncharted journey revealing a perceived reality through a distorted pair of rose glasses. Faced with life's problems, she discloses the errors of her ways that enabled a lifetime of harmful behavioral patterns, which allowed people through her journey to perform the ultimate sin. As a result, each decision she made, molded her happiness and authentic self through her stigmas, insecurities, and fears. Armed with courage and accountability, she slowly repairs the wounds of the past to silence the ghost that once haunted her transforming into a uniquely changed version revealing her true self, which begins the journey of an unraveled road she now is on.



FRIEDA LOPEZ



Tell your readers a little about yourself, where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school etc. Let them get to know the personal you.

My name is Frieda Josephine Lopez. I was born and raised in San Antonio, TX in the heart of the West Side. I lived in Houston, TX, for three years (my home away from home) and recently moved back due to the adversity I speak about in my book. After high school, I attended San Antonio College where my love affair for the humanities began, which lead to graduating with a Bachelors in Fine Arts in Fashion Design at International Academy of Design and Technology, and obtaining my Masters in Business Administration from American Intercontinental University. I will be attending college in the fall, where the Journey my book led me to has compelled me to pursue a degree in Psychology with a big picture plan, hopes of gaining acceptance to gain my doctorate, as my Journey has shown an effective future as a Psychiatrist. The best way to sum my existence up is with Journey's "Anyway You Want It" as I love to dance, love to sing, I do everything. I have a passion for science and biology, expressional arts such as singing and dancing (which had me prior to the book audition for American Idol), and pursing fashion design as a hobby along with woodwork and furniture building. Love comedies and action movies, love orchids, the outdoors, cooking, and sparing with the heavy bag. I always take accountability for the things I have control and willingly become a voice for those who may not have one yet. Family is everything to me and although I am single, hope that my Journey will one day present the right for me; as I have a free spirit, passionate, and a bit of stubbornness, would one day find someone who can reciprocate the same respect, compassion, and humble confidence in their selves that "Journey of an Unraveled Road" has helped me conserve which is my compassion and empathy and humility in my self-love and respect. It's all about the Journey and the experience you gain from it.




What inspired you to author this book?

This was a labor of love, as this was meant to be a journal. But while telling my story, revealed that the pain I had, were the same pains those who wronged me had, which in the injustices bestowed on me was an injustice by someone else, revealed the ugly truth, the resolved issues were never resolved. Recognizing my behavior patterns and the effects that I allowed it to show that the value we perceive is a band aid for the things that pain us, that we never come to terms with as "others have it worse, and some pained the shame it brought them. Reminded in every chapter of my life by the "unworthy misfits of society that would never amount to nothing" selflessly assured my pain and actions would result into the coping mechanism they use to numb the pain regardless of the entitlement or mistreatment I unintentionally inflicted. Not only was the book gaining justice and compassion from the place I was shown the most love and acceptance, "the wrong side of tracks" not only had me aid those I came from but those temporarily disabled. Since I already lost it all, I had nothing to lose. The book became my life, even if only one person, it was my mission (call it a divine intervention) to be the example of how humility, modern day chastity, charity, gratitude, temperance, patience, and diligence looks like in the burning world we currently live in which thrives in pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth all in the sake of gaining the success social norms perceives in hopes that maybe even if it's just one person can earn a fair chance to rebuild the life they earned. Hoping that all the things I've done win or lose can help those rise from the ashes.




Where did you get the inspiration for your book's cover?

The picture on the back cover is the place I would do all my life-changing thinking, which is located at San Antonio's Woodlawn Lake Park. My Aunt Ruth introduced me to the lake at age three years old and designated the spot to gather my thoughts that we always went to together, which is why she will always be my FGM (Fairy God Mother). This is the spot I would release the feelings I would hold on, and this is where I started writing poetry, this is where no matter how much my heart broke had me leave toxic situations, where I was able to determine the best action to assure everyone's best interest was considered. The collage of pictures is in those darkest moments I faced, revealed a light. Which before this would have taken people, experiences, the best things in life that are free for granted. Without these moments of hopes, I would have never stopped turning my head, find myself, and with my world coming down, gain the courage to not only fight for my cause but provide a window to help someone else's cause.




 Who has been the most significant influence on you personally and as a writer?

It's hard to just pinpoint one. This was a collaborative effort. My courage isn't just my own courage but a mosaic of the courage. The unconditional love and the compassion that those who sincerely cared about me despite their misinterpreted intentions many times have I fell down, licked my wounds, and embraced me with open arms regardless of the bad behaviors I was developing in my attempts of gaining success. Mutually understanding of it being unintended was why I feel everyone deserves a fair chance of redemption and wisdom I always was receptive to no matter where I was in life, empowered me at the start of the Journey. The greatest blessings are that while in motion post book journey, I always was provided by the Universe, someone who with nobility and sincerity guided me on the things I never got as those who previous guided me could not understand how to help me as they gave into the perceptions those who should of known better perceived, letting me fly so I can fly higher while under their wing.

What were your struggles or obstacles you had to overcome to get this book written?

Forgiving those who should have known better was the hardest thing to overcome in this Journey. You can't help but feel anger and wrath to those who had the power to stop, prevent, or end treatment from happening. I lied to myself when I said I forgave because in the only way they were taught on how influence work.  I took it personally. I intentionally pulled veins out of an entitlement I gained "fight fire with fire." Forgiveness meant I had to let go of a life, things, people I not only invested in but also dedicated a lifetime gaining. But that's how I gained the knowledge of true genuine love. I had to be transparent, set boundaries, and hold myself and them accountable for crossing them. I always gave in to the deflecting guilt and ended up just enabling their bad behavior that had them do worst things to me which if I stuck to the cause and effect of crossing my boundaries, may have saved both of us the time wasted justifying the servility of the offenses that we both caused one another; we could have been sharing more moments that outweighed all the bad with the good. While they focus on the bad things we both experienced, I think of the good ones, which the good person they still are is just battling with perceived judgments I don't even have causing them to self preserve with negative behaviors that we both engaged in, that has them thinking the worst of me, as me keeping my distance isn't because I don't love them anymore. It's because in my heart I know, in their heart, they know the things they try to convince themselves aren't true. And that one day, when they are ready to heal, can give them the help I gotten from those who loved me just the same, later on in life.




Tell your readers about your book.

"Journey of an Unraveled Road" reveals the Journey of a woman plagued by childhood trauma and her uncharted Journey revealing a perceived reality through a distorted pair of rose glasses. Faced with life's problems, she discloses the errors of her ways that enabled a lifetime of harmful behavioral patterns, which allowed people through her Journey to perform the ultimate sin. As a result, each decision she made, molded her happiness and authentic self through her stigmas, insecurities, and fears. Armed with courage and accountability, she slowly repairs the wounds of the past to silence the ghost that once haunted her transforming into a uniquely changed version revealing her true self, which begins the Journey of an unraveled road she now is on.

Who is your target audience, and why?

I feel that everyone receptive is a largest audience. We all have experienced that "shit hits the fan" moment that just floods us with the insecurities from the ghost of the past. We are all misfits living in a world on us. I have nothing to lose, why not let this misfit be the voice for the people like us.




What do you consider your greatest success in life?

Facing my inner demons and realizing that success is in my eyes the ability to perceive. The most beautiful thing I have seen in my life is when people perceiver in the most desperate times in adversity. At that moment, regardless of the fear they physically show, the moment of gaining courage and expressing love and someone they can count on standing by them.



What one unique thing sets you apart from other writers in your genre?

Being a "self-help," you have to follow the steps to achieve the help given and in some instances become ineffective as it addresses the root of the stigma, perception, or struggle by putting a band-aid on that can lead into acts of self-sabotage with the conditioned mantras used to motivate you. The self-help I provide is advice, tactics that can be tailored to everyone, in any chapter, eliminating resentment as your not failing if you make the same mistake. The same error becomes motivation that measures your progress to perfect your skill as long as you still have the desire for change and drive to gain courage, you're already ten steps ahead in the game.