Bitter/Sweet: Surviving the Struggle Within describes my efforts to face the fears and pain of love and self-love, sickness and health, death and spirituality, and forgiveness. It also expresses my hope to find the answers to life's questions.

First I had to acknowledge self, because without self-acknowledgement, every obstacle will magnify. In understanding what makes me tick and how my past could hold me back, I learned to love myself, which allowed me to find true love.

Bitter poisons that once flowed through my veins, are now replaced with the sweet taste of honey. My agonies, frustrations, and pain took me on one excursion after another.

The only true journey toward growth and fulfillment is tunneling through the many avenues of self. I had to go within before I could move forward. I had to master this expedition.

No matter what I seek, everything I need is already inside me. Am I important enough to myself to go within and search for what I want and need? It is what I choose to accept about my life that will make it "Bitter" or "Sweet."

And I realize that I am not alone. Everyone experiences pain and discord.

I hope my words reach others so they too can rejoice. I have learned to celebrate the child within to overcome past hurts and all the old "Bitter/Sweet" experiences. This chronicles where I have been, where I am today, and what I have accomplished.

(About the Author)

First-time author Brenda Stubbs grew up in Ohio, as one of eight children in a home with no running hot water, an outhouse, and a potbelly coal stove. She is now a life coach.