HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A SLAVE TO LOVE?
by Re'Gena Bell-Roberts
by Re'Gena Bell-Roberts
When I revisit my past and recall the beatings I suffered by the hands of a man who constantly professed his love for me, I shudder. How is it possible for one to inflict pain on another and call it love? On the flip side, how is it possible to love that person back? But I did … I was madly in love and I held on to the belief and trust that he loved me too.
That man, on occasion, had a way of making the pain his foreplay. His words dripped with honey, and his touch was gentle with sweet caress. His powerful arms held me tight, his thick, sweet lips kissed me right and our passionate sex set my soul on fire.
Was I stupid? Was I naïve? Was I blinded by love? Honestly, I’d go with all three and toss in the most important answer––I was uninformed and uneducated. And I was a slave to loving that man, no matter what he did, no matter how much pain I experienced, no matter how many times he broke my heart.
I wrote my memoir, Walking on Thin Ice for anyone who is a slave to love. I re-lived the pain and trauma to get your attention and help you in ways that I couldn’t do for myself, back when it could have made a difference. I wrote my book as a warning and a wake-up call. I hope you hear it!
When you’re a slave to love, you think you can take any and all kind of pain that your beloved inflicts upon you. When you’re a slave to love, you give your power away in the name of that love.
I wrote the book to send a message to you: If you are in an abusive situation, walk away. Now, don’t wait! Regain your freedom and spread you wings! Maybe if I’d done that, I would not have experienced the tragedy that changed everything for me and my family. Maybe if I’d known that, I’d have been spared years of heartbreak and grief. Maybe if I’d listened when people tried to tell me…
My hope is that if you’re in this kind of situation, where the love is so overpowering that you override your own survival instincts, your own common sense; where you hear your loved ones’ warnings, but choose not to listen because you’ve chosen to be a slave to love…. that you will listen this one time. That you will understand. And that you will empower yourself and learn from my experience. Read my memoir, Walking on Thin Ice. It could save your life. Or your sanity. Or both.
About the Author
Re'Gena Bell-Roberts is an actress, poet, award-winning playwright and author whose published work includes a collection of prose and poetry. She earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of California at Los Angeles and raised her four children as a single parent while continuing to pursue a career.
Re’Gena won the Rockefeller Foundation award for her play "Eclipse"; and a Prose award from Culver City Community College. She produced and directed an NAACP Martin Luther King Day celebration event; and received numerous awards for her community service. She was featured on the Steve Harvey Show and honored as one of “Steve Harvey’s Hero.”
Re’Gena resides in Murrieta, California.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rlbroberts
Website: http://walking-on-thin-ice.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/regena.bellroberts
Order Walking on Thin Ice by Re'Gena Bell-Roberts
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True Story > Non-fiction > Biographies & Memoirs
