Monday, September 23, 2019

Finding Euphoria by C. Becker #adoption #drugs


MUSE MONDAY


Today's guest post is by C. Becker. She's tackled a heavy subject. It's a tug on your heart subject. Read on!

Adoption is one of the main topics found in Finding Euphoria, the first story in the suspense Euphoria trilogy.  Hailey Langley endured the hardest decision any woman would want to face. At seventeen years old, she became pregnant after she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. She put her child up for adoption. Her strong will allows her to pull through the adversities. Keeping the sadness and guilt bottled up inside, she creates a new life, but never forgets.

PBS.org lists there are around 135,000 children adopted in the U.S. each year. Of these adoptions, 15 percent (over 20,000) are from American woman voluntarily putting their babies up for adoption. The individual reason for one’s decision varies, but what is important is the emotional heartache the woman feels afterwards. I’m thankful for those mothers who can find comfort in support groups, friends, and family members. No one should grieve alone over the choice of adoption.

I’ve known several women who have adopted children as babies and witnessed the love for the child. I’ve personally met even fewer mothers who have put their babies up for adoption.  Maybe it’s because the pain is too great to talk about, or they fear others will judge them. I can only imagine the sadness and grief one carries. Each birth mother wants their child to live a happy life, surrounded by love and support of the new adoptive family.

My novel incorporates the birth mother’s sadness and guilt through Hailey. The pain hidden deep in her heart from putting her child up for adoption surfaces when the adoptive father seeks her out and begs her to help save her first-born son after the now teenage child falls into a coma from using a new street drug.  Finding Euphoria is much more than finding the drug Euphoria—it’s a woman’s road to forgiveness and finding peace and joy in her life again.

Book blurb:
Hailey Langley refuses to be a victim and has moved on from her traumatic past. But her marriage problems worsen when a deadly illicit drug threatens to draw her into the life she left behind.
Mark Langley has allowed his job to interfere with his marriage, but he never suspected the secrets in Hailey's past might hold the key to solving both of his current investigations.
Together, they must unravel the mystery of the drug called Euphoria and find a way to save not only their marriage, but countless lives, before it's too late.

Buy links:

PG Excerpt:
He turned the bottle around in his hand and set it on the end table. “Don’t put me in this position. You know what would happen. Grace is his mother. She’s the one who needs to stay with him.”
Regret tugged at her heart. “I wouldn’t take any time away from her.”
Parker groaned. “Just you being there would make her feel uncomfortable.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
“But I’ve stayed away for seventeen years,” she whispered.
“That was the adoption arrangement.”
She bit her lip. “I can’t stay away any longer.”
“You agreed to those terms in the contract. You terminated all parental rights.” Parker stood and paced to the kitchen.
“But it’s not fair!” She put down her water and began wringing her hands.
Straightening his arms, he leaned against the bar. “Hailey, please don’t start. I know how you feel…”
“You couldn’t possibly know how I feel. I need to see him.” She fought to control the bitterness in her voice.
“No.”
She rose, knocking over the water bottle. “He’s my son!”
“Not anymore, he isn’t.”
The rebuke stung. “He’ll always be my son!”
“When you gave him up, you promised to keep your distance.”
“I have.”
“Forever.”
The reminder lanced her heart. “You’re being unfair. He’s dying.”
He slammed his fist on the bar. “Don’t say that. He can’t die.” Parker pushed himself up and stomped near the window, raising his hands to rest on top of his head as he faced the curtain.
A muscle twitched in her hand. Her knees buckled. She sat on the edge of the couch, wringing her hands. “I was young. I couldn’t give Justin the life he deserved. I’m not asking to take him back. I only want to see him.”
Rubbing his jaw, he walked back to the couch and sat. The hard lines on his face softened. “The adoption papers were clear. No contact.” He placed his hands on top of hers and stilled them. “If the decision was mine, I would allow it, but Grace would lose it if she found out you’re Justin’s biological mother.”
Her hands squeezed into tight fists. The urge was unbearable. “I wouldn’t tell her.”
Parker ran a hand through his hair. “Argh! Don’t you understand? She’d take one look at your face and know the truth. Don’t forget, you’re the one who wanted us to protect him.”
She stood. “Well, you did a hell of a fine job, didn’t you? You divorced Grace and deserted him. Parenting takes sacrifice, Parker. You were too busy changing careers, and now he’s messed up with drugs. How did that protect him?”
Standing, he reached for her.
“No. You stay away from me.” She extended her hands and backed up a step. “Justin’s dying! Dying, Parker! And I don’t know him…You won’t let me see my own son.”
He wrapped his arms around her.
She pushed him, pummeling her fists against his chest with all her strength.
He silently took his beating.

Website address:
Social media profile links (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc):

A short author bio:
A native of western Pennsylvania, C. Becker earned a B.S. degree in Medical Technology and MT (ASCP) certification. She has worked in clinical settings analyzing body fluids and testing drugs of abuse. As an author, C. Becker has published multiple stories in various genres.


5 comments: