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Dancing Softly

A powerful story of hope and courage that shows us nothing is impossible to overcome….”  Melvina Walter, Executive Director of The Halton Women's Centre

“Dancing Softly is an insight into the hearts and minds of people who struggle with mental illness. I couldn’t put it down.” Sasha Stevenson

“A great read indeed! Dancing Softly restores faith and inspires hope. Read it and know that perseverance, diligence and integrity always pay off. Dancing Softly encourages everyone to let their inner light shine. It’s a message we need to aspire to every day!” Savina Rotella

“Dancing Softly provides a window into the lives of far too many young women and girls. The hope generated by this story is so encouraging." Kim Pate: Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies & Part-Time Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

Dancing Softly, released Nov. 14, 2012, A story about the resilience of the human spirit and the touch of a gentle God, shortlisted for The Word Guild Award April 2013

 

Sixteen-year-old Jamie DeSouza runs away from home to escape from years of sexual and emotional abuse. Living on the streets of Toronto, she survives the only way she knows how – by becoming tough, hard, angry...a fighter. When her freedom is taken away, Jamie finds herself locked in a psychiatric ward where she struggles to maintain hope.

Caught in the mental health system, Jamie is stripped of her dignity and even basic human rights. It’s in that dark place she learns to fight back in ways that ultimately free her. The people Jamie meets along the way teach her that dancing softly in life is far more powerful than the use of violence.

“We are not powerless specks of dust drifting around in the wind, blown by random destiny. We are each of us like beautiful snowflakes, unique and born for a specific purpose.” Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D.

Dancing Softly is dedicated to Ashley Smith, a young woman who took her life at GrandValley Prison. Ashley’s crime – throwing crab apples at a postal worker. Ashley never should have been incarcerated. The system broke her spirit. And there are many woman in systems – mental health, nursing homes, penitentiaries, who are disempowered, bullied and treated as if they have little worth.

 

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