Recently released: Audiobook edition of It Only Hurts When I Can't Run

Recently released: the audiobook edition of It Only Hurts When I Can't Run by Gewanda Parker.

Book description:

It Only Hurts When I Can’t Run is a raw, inspiring memoir of survival, faith, and unbreakable resilience. Abused, abandoned, and passed between foster homes, friends, and relatives, a young girl faces unthinkable trauma—including sexual assault at the hands of those deemed trustworthy. Yet, through every betrayal and heartbreak, she finds strength in motion—physically running, and spiritually running toward hope.

Told with courageous honesty, this powerful story traces her transformation from a wounded child into an educator, minister, and entrepreneur. With unwavering trust in God, she not only survives but forgives—and ultimately shares a life-changing message of healing for others walking through pain.

For readers of inspirational true stories, abuse survival memoirs, and faith-based journeys of redemption, this book offers both heartbreak and healing in equal measure.

Keywords:

Inspirational memoir; True story of survival; Christian memoir; Overcoming abuse; Abuse survivor story; Foster care memoir; Childhood trauma healing; Resilience and faith; Healing from sexual abuse; Empowerment through faith; Best Christian autobiographies; Memoirs about overcoming trauma; Books about foster care and resilience; Christian women’s inspirational stories; Real-life abuse survival stories; Religious abuse survivor memoir; Faith-based healing journey; Forgiveness and redemption; Hope after trauma; Surviving childhood abuse; Faith in hard times; Running as therapy; Healing through God’s grace

5-star book review by Amanda Anderson: MUST READ

I must admit that I have never been an avid reader; however, this book caught my attention! I was advised that once I started I would not want to stop. Let's just say I read the book in less than 48 hours. I loved the way in which the story was written and how the writer was able to identify the work of God in every obstacle she faced. The picture was painted vividly, and it made me feel as if I was Miss Oma. Most of all, I was moved by the way she honored her mother in this book. One can only be encouraged by this story. I have a few people that I am going to purchase the book for. I look forward to volume 2 and will definitely support Mrs. Parker's future endeavors.

Assessment by US Review of Books:

"I remember seeing my mother with tears running down her cheeks, crack pipe in hand. I refused to leave the room, and the shame of her child watching her use drugs added to her shame."

Oma (the author’s name for the little girl she once was) wanted to love her mother Binta, a woman who could be generous, creative, and kind at times—but at other times, driven by her addiction, Binta's eyes became "narrowed and watery, displaying a look of meanness." From an early age, Oma tried to hide, then to run away, from the addictive patterns of the one person she should have been able to trust. The enraged, addicted Binta beat her with hands, a belt, even a belt buckle (the same belt used as part of the paraphernalia of her mother's heroin habit). Men in her mother's lives sexually abused Oma, starting when she was only five. Oma was shunted through numerous foster care situations. As she got older she grew better able to resist the negative forces in her life. She experienced a religious conversion that gave her strength.

Today Oma/Gewanda has a Master of Divinity degree and has founded a charity to protect marginalized children. Her writing style is honest, clear, and spare. Though her childhood experiences were chaotic and frightening—being taken away in strange cars by unknown people, being functionally kidnapped by her own family, being shamed by her poverty—she is able to convince us that she has genuinely forgiven her mother, considering her to have been more sinned against than sinning. And she reminds us that even among so-called good people there are addictive traits and behaviors. One of her childhood molesters, after all, was a much-admired preacher.

Both sermon and paean to the poor and neglected of the world, It Only Hurts When I Can't Run (planned a Part One of a series) is a woman's plea for innocent girls trapped in an evil environment, expressing the hope that her story "will touch the lives of millions."

RECOMMENDED by the US Review (book review by Barbara Bamberger Scott)

Amazon rankings:

#4 Hot New Releases in the child abuse category
#8 Hot New Releases in the family relationship/abuse category
#47 Hot New Releases in the family relationship category

Check out more posts about and by Gerwanda and her book HERE.

Read more memoirs HERE.

To purchase copies of any MSI Press book at 25% discount,

use code FF25 at MSI Press webstore.

Want to read an MSI Press book and not have to buy for it?
(1) Ask your local library to purchase and shelve it.
(2) Ask us for a review copy; we love to have our books reviewed.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES.

Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter
(recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)
Check out recent issues.

Follow MSI Press on Twitter, Face Book, Pinterest, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?
Check out information on how to submit a proposal.

We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us?

Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help.

Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our author au pair services will mentor you through the process.

Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com.

Want an author-signed copy of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.
Julia Aziz, signing her book, Lessons of Labor, at an event at Book People in Austin, Texas.

Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our Authors' Pages.

Steven Greenebaum, author of award-winning books, An Afternoon's Discussion and One Family: Indivisible, talking to a reader at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy, California.

MSI Press is ranked among the top publishers in California.
Check out our rankings -- and more -- HERE.