My Soul Cries Out: The Journey of My Life

My Soul Cries Out is a heart wrenching, shocking and ultimately triumphant portrait of one woman's shattered life. Throughout this remarkable memoir of her tragic upbringing, Joyce Purvis reveals how her life was tormented by parents who were alcoholics, abusers and adulterers. They were both mentally and emotionally impoverished. Their inability to properly express hurt, disappointment, fear and anger was inadvertently taught to their children. 


In addition to the violence and abuse she endured as a child, Joyce soon discovered she was not like all others. She had to face the intolerances of being a homosexual suffering from manic depression and Asperger, who later became an alcoholic. Being different brought with it isolation, loneliness, rejection and a low self-esteem. These areas affected how she saw herself and how she related to other people. In retrospect, she believes that one must have faith in order to be triumphant. Her faith in God strengthened as she became determined to overcome the adversities in her life. My Soul Cries Out is a memoir that is sure to inspire and touch the hearts of many. 


Joyce Purvis was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia. She worked for the Department of Defense as a civil servant for twenty-five years (1971-1996). She also served as a weekend drilling Naval Reservist for twenty-one years (1979-2001). After her retirement in 1996, she volunteered to go on active duty, and she received a Presidential Recall to work on a special project for DOD. Joyce went to school at night while working for the government. She attended Tidewater Community College where she majored in Computer Information Systems. Following graduation, she furthered her education by attending Saint Leo University majoring in Criminology. While in college, she took a course in autobiography writing. This helped spark her interest in soul searching and in writing about her life. She was also inspired by several of her counselors to keep a personal journal. Over a span of several years she realized she needed to incorporate pieces from her college autobiography and her journals into a book.