Petals from Mars

A Poignant Memoir of Inspiration and Wisdom. Judie Dziezak is no stranger to adversity. Those who know her as an attorney technology writer or scientist see a soft-spoken pleasant competent professional who courageously stands up for what’s right even when she is the only one standing. What they don’t know is that growing up she wrestled with a tumultuous crescendo of abuse from her mentally ill mother. No one knew.. As an adult that secret came back to haunt her. A soul-shattering experience wrought by an exquisitely orchestrated premeditated lie threatened to devour her alive and pull her back into a toxic stew of drama. That situation forced a choice: accept the lie or embrace the truth and cut family ties. Which would she choose?. In Dziezak’s work in male-dominated fields where she was among the first few women and sometimes the only woman struggles were not commonplace. But when they occurred they were a doozy.. Adversarial ghosts reminiscent of those from her youth surfaced: jealousy sabotage and disempowerment—only now primarily from a patriarchal leadership. She turned to the treasures gleaned from her early years of abuse: self-reliance resilience and inner strength. And after encountering a stream of dilemmas she learned the ultimate lesson—the key to moving forward.. Petals from Mars is a brave intimate chronicle of a fiery battle for holding one’s power and standing firm. With keen insight Dziezak unfolds a look into the strength of the human spirit and how difficulty can blossom into self-discovery compassion understanding and self-love.. Available in Kindle Paperback and Hardcover. Click ‘Look Inside’ to begin reading now.