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Shannon Rowell

Shannon Rowell

About

My name is Shannon Rowell and I am the author of my personal story Chains Be Broken: Finding Freedom from Cutting, Anxiety, Depression, Anorexia, and Suicide. I am a mental health counselor in the Orlando area and it is my goal to help those suffering from mental health issues. I have written my story in hopes to help teenagers and their parents or friends to understand the common mental health issues adolscents experience today. I hope to provide a resource and be an inspriration to others who are struggling.

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

Story Behind The Book

Prologue I am sitting here staring out in the distance… There is a young girl; she looks as if she hasn’t got a friend in the world to talk with. I can’t help but wonder what she is thinking or why she looks so lonely. Surely she is normal, just like anyone else her age. There is no way she could have ever gone through or experienced what I have been through. So why does she look so sad? Why does she frown when everyone around her smiles? Then she looks in my direction. Our eyes lock, and it is then I realize the girl I am watching is…me. Perhaps you feel as I did. One minute you are scared and insecure, and the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest of force in your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy, and you cling to the past with dear life. Soon you realize the past is wandering farther and farther away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward. This is when you are faced with making your next life decision. Which will you choose?

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Reviews

<span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Regular';"><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Regular';"><font color="#231f20" size="3" face="AGaramondPro-Regular"></font></span></span><p align="left">More and more pre-teens and teenagers are going through life</p> <p align="left">battling issues that they sometimes believe no one can truly</p> <p align="left">understand. Thankfully, there is now a book written not just</p> <p align="left">for pre-teens and teenagers, but for people from all walks of life,</p> <p align="left">regardless of their age, gender, religion or race.</p> <p align="left">This book brings to life the many hidden issues pre-teens</p> <p align="left">and teenagers struggle with every day. In reading this book you</p> <p align="left">will find out how one young girl was able to ride the waves and</p> <p align="left">weather the storms of her teenage years and with prayer, family,</p> <p align="left">and friends overcome it all.</p> <p align="left">Her story, told from the heart, takes you into the depth of her</p> <p align="left">struggles with cutting, anxiety, depression, anorexia, and suicide.</p> <p align="left">Shannon bared it all and through her story hopes to help other</p> <p align="left">young girls and boys overcome these struggles. The details are</p> <p align="left">visual and with the turn of each page you are left wanting to read</p> <p align="left">more on how she broke the chains and became free from cutting,</p> <p align="left">anxiety, depression, anorexia, and suicide.</p> <em><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"><font color="#231f20" size="3" face="AGaramondPro-Italic"></font></span></span></em><p align="left">— Sherika Dacres</p> <p align="left">Middle School Teacher</p> <span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"></span></span></span><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Regular';"><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Regular';"><font color="#231f20" size="3" face="AGaramondPro-Regular"></font></span></span><p align="left">This extraordinary young woman has generously shared her</p> <p align="left">personal struggle through pain, despair, and self-destructive</p> <p align="left">experiences in adolescence to the other side of enthusiastically</p> <p align="left">embracing life in young adulthood. To read this book is to</p> <p align="left">travel with her and to believe that there is hope for others. I look</p> <p align="left">forward to a sequel.</p> <em><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"><font color="#231f20" size="3" face="AGaramondPro-Italic"></font></span></span></em><p align="left">— Margaret A. Foley, LCSW</p> <p>Social Worker</p><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"><span style="font-family:'AGaramondPro-Italic';"></span></span></span>