Eleven Broken Pencils

'ELEVEN BROKEN PENCILS' by V. Schroeder relates story of one dysfunctional family's struggle against secrets and truth

FORRESTO N, Ill. - Every family is different in its own ways, has its own share of troubles and treads through various paths to resolution. Yet no matter how tough the going gets, it is comforting to know that there are people to share one's stories with. This tacit privilege and the reprieve that comes with it, cements bonds in family relationships. So what happens when secrets gradually morph a family into strangers? In "ELEVEN BROKEN PENCILS" author V. Schroeder tells a poignant story that tells such struggle in a world still void and innocent of the savage truth.

"ELEVEN BROKEN PENCILS" follows the story of an extremely dysfunctional family in the 90s. The tragic death of a mother reunites the family together. Speculation runs about the cause of her demise: suicide?

Undiagnosed mental illness? Before the dawn of the new millennium, talk of bipolar disorder or subtle mental illnesses is almost unheard of. A shocking revelation opens a Pandora 's Box of life-altering family secrets. This cleanses their troubled souls and brings them back to each other' s am1s. Myrna, the mother figure of the family, has yearned for this. Now, they all realize how self-inflicted guilt is much worse than confessing their decades- long secrets.

Presented in a superbly insightful tirade on love and life, "ELEVEN BROKEN PENCILS" exemplifies how openness is essential to building a strong and unified family. It exalts on the significance of acceptance within as a fom1 of validation of existence and identity. It imparts how, no matter what kind of family one does have, the most important treasure of all is the love earned from sharing - the security and sense of belongingness found in the bond of mutual devotion.