Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story

Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story is a memoir by Lynn C. Tolson. The story begins with her suicide attempt at the age of twenty-five. In the aftermath, she commits to counseling to recover from anxiety and depression. The reader accompanies the author through therapy sessions, where the young woman reveals dysfunctional family relationships, including domestic violence, sexual abuse, and mental illness. She learns from her counselor that she'd been suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) which was the underlying cause of self-destructive behaviors, such as addictions and alcoholism. Due to the therapeutic process, the author discovers the value of life. Her story illustrates physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation. In sharing her inspirational journey, she provides readers with a message of hope.

Author Lynn C. Tolson appeals to the reader from the first paragraph of her powerful memoir Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story . Tolson uses creative non-fiction to tell her story, fascinating the reader with metaphor, prose, and poetry. The story is non-fiction, yet the style reads like a novel. Tolson tells her riveting story in first-person narrative, enabling the reader to instantly bond with her authentic voice. Readers can readily visualize the settings, plot, and characters due to the author's well-developed descriptions and dialogue. The reader sees the flashbacks, nightmares, daydreams, and memories that define the author's childhood. This is not an average auto-biography: the book combines story-telling with self-help, affirmations, meditations, and therapeutic concepts. Privy to Tolson's intense therapy sessions, the reader discovers the ways in which the author changed her life. Each chapter begins with a quote appropriate to the content, which gives the reader even more to contemplate. The topics challenge the reader to explore social problems within the context of family relationships. However, Tolson uses her clever wit to offer the reader occasional comic relief. Readers say that they simultaneously laughed and cried on the same page. Some readers say that reading the book literally changed their lives. Readers also say they view themselves and their families with a fresh perspective.

Lynn C. Tolson lived her first eighteen years in the Northeast. She then moved to the Southwest where she engaged in careers in real estate and property management. During those years, she survived post-traumatic stress disorder, which manifested in addictions and suicide attempts. Through the therapeutic process, she determined the causes of her dysfunction, and was able to achieve a life that reflects health and happiness. Her memoir, Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story, illustrates physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation. Tolson lived in the Midwest where she returned to college in her forties to obtain a degree in social work. She resides in the Rocky Mountain region with her husband and two West Highland White Terriers. She is writing a book about her breast cancer experience, including using art as a healing medium.

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