What do a little Iranian girl with a dream, a white boy from Detroit on his way to alcoholism, a black boy from the inner-city, and a church girl suffering from sexual abuse have in common? They all wear a mask that hides their pain, and yet God had a plan for each of them.

Each of us has a story that others may never know. It is that part of our reality that we keep hidden. We enter the workplace, classroom, religious institutions and public places hiding under masks that assure coworkers, friends, and acquaintances that all is well in our world. “I’m fine, how are you?” We cover our bruises and scars with the hope that our pain will not be discovered and used to cause further harm. We keep the mask on so long that sometimes the mask becomes our identity and we lose sight of the person we were born to be.

The individuals in this book have agreed to at least partially remove their masks, which is a start and profound first step toward healing. These stories reveal the pain of their life’s journeys in the hope that lessons may be learned. The painful experiences relayed seem both unreal and surreal. This pain is complicated by beliefs that our individual pain is so unique that it is beyond understanding. No matter what your painful truth may be, one of the true purposes for the transparency on each page of this book is that you will find encouragement, and maybe even learn a few lessons that reside beneath the mask.

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