Who Am I? How My Daughter Taught Me to
Let Go and Live Again
by Megan
Cyrulewski
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Megan
Cyrulewski is an ordinary person who has faced extraordinary challenges and now
wants to inspire people and show them that hope gives them the power to survive
anything. Who Am I? is about her journey into postpartum depression, anxiety
disorder, panic attacks, visits to the psych ward, divorce, domestic violence,
law school and her courageous struggle to survive with her sanity intact - and how
a beautiful little girl emerged from all this chaos.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
On January 18, 2012, we all convened in the courthouse for
the Motion for Parenting Time hearing. My dad and I arrived with my attorney,
but Tyler loved an audience so he brought his dad, step-mom, and his new
on-again off-again girlfriend, Heather. Tyler walked in with his posse in tow,
cocky as hell. It took all of two minutes for the judge to knock him off his feet.
The Judge addressed our respective attorneys. “Why are we
here?”
“Your honor,” Tyler’s attorney began, “my client has clearly
been denied his parenti—”
The Judge didn’t even let him finish. “How?” She turned to
my attorney. “Don?”
“Your honor, as you can see in the divorce decree, there was
supposed to be a review when the minor child turned twelve-months-old. The
Defendant has ignored that review.”
“I—if I may, your honor,” Tyler’s attorney sputtered.
“I see the review in the decree. It’s here in black and
white,” she told Tyler’s attorney. “What is the problem? Why didn’t you
understand the review? Your client signed the divorce decree.”
Tyler’s attorney tried again. “But your honor—”
The judge cut him off. “There is to be a review conducted by
the Friend of the Court referee assigned to the parties. Until then, the
Defendant will continue his parenting time schedule as agreed upon in the
divorce decree. Dismissed.”
And that was it. After eight police reports and numerous
harassing text messages, phone calls, and e-mails, we won. As Don and Tyler’s
attorney went to speak with the clerk to file the necessary paperwork, Don told
us to wait for him outside the courtroom.
As we exited the courtroom, the hallway was so packed with
people that my dad and I were only able to find enough space to lean against
the wall. We were talking about the court proceedings when we looked up at saw
Tyler and his new girlfriend standing right across from us.
“Why do you lie about everything?” Tyler screamed.
Heather walked up to me and stood about an inch from my
face. “As a mother myself, you should be happy that Tyler is the father of your
child.”
My jaw dropped. “I’m sorry but I don’t know you.”
She smirked. “Well you’re going to get to know me, bitch.”
Tyler made a big show of pulling her from me like I was
going to punch her or something. By this time, everyone in the hallway was
watching us. We were pure entertainment.
Heather continued her rant. “Two times in the psych ward,
Megan? What a great mother you are.”
“Where is your mom, the real mother of our child?” Tyler
screamed. “She’s the one who takes care of Madelyne.”
My dad and I tried to move away from Tyler and Heather but
they followed us.
“Awww…” Heather mocked. “Do you have to take a Xanax because
of your anxiety?”
“Go take your Xanax and sleeping pills, you drug addict,”
Tyler shouted.
Finally, Don emerged from the courtroom and pulled us into a
quiet corridor. He explained that I needed to call our referee to set-up a
meeting to discuss a visitation schedule. I told Don about the verbal assault
by Tyler and Heather. Don said he would call Tyler’s attorney to let him know
that Heather would not be allowed in my house.
Upon leaving the courthouse, Heather screamed, “See you on
Sunday, Megan.”
I turned toward her and said calmly, “I don’t know you, but
you are not welcome in my home.”
That night, Tyler sent me multiple texts attacking my
mothering skills, my supposed drug addictions, how he was going to fight for
joint custody of Madelyne, how Heather would be accompanying him for his
visitations, and a barrage of other insults:
“Get a life already”
“Don’t you have
something better to do than wasting your parents’ money?”
“Go take your pills
and relax, oh yeah, then your parents would have to watch our daughter. Oh
yeah, they already do.”
“Go talk to your
friends. Oh yeah, you don’t have any because of how crazy you are.”
“Interesting to know
you’ve been to the hospital a couple of times. You really need to get it
together.”
“Better go call your lawyer and make up some more stuff
about me.”
“Don’t be mad at your sorry life.”
“I am sure living with Mom and Dad the rest of your life
will be fun.”
“When you get a job, then you can pay me child support.
Fun.”
I finally had to turn
my phone off at midnight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Megan
Cyrulewski has been writing short stories ever since she was
ten-years-old. Eventually she settled
into a career in the non-profit sector and then went back to school to get her
law degree. While she was in school, she
documented her divorce and child custody battle in her memoir, Who Am I?, which
was published in 2014. Megan lives in
Michigan with her 3-year-old daughter who loves to dance, run, read, and
snuggle time with Mommy. Megan also
enjoys her volunteer work with Troy Youth Assistance as the Fundraising Chair
on the Board of Directors.
My Review:
I am really close to my mom, and I really enjoyed this book. Not only did it help me to respect her more, but it also reminded me of all the things we have been through. The author did a really nice job of writing about the bond between mothers and daughters. She also talked about illnesses and issues that a lot of people deal with in their every day lives. Love is strength. This is a true story and was very inspiring to me. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.
Giveaway:
Megan will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour
I liked the excerpt
ReplyDeleteI love true stories and content that would be very interesting to read . I enjoyed the excerpt thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeletethank you for the excerpt, i enjoyed reading it :)
ReplyDeleteWho Am I? is a great title and way to start. Thanks.
ReplyDeletesavewish@yahoo.com
Sherry Compton
What a really emotional excerpt. I enjoyed it very much.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting today and for the wonderful review. I'm so glad you enjoyed my book. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the review!
ReplyDeleteTrix, vitajex(At)Aol(Dot)com
I like the excerpt
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt!! The books appears to be one of those readers won't soon forget. I'm already emotionally charged just from the snippet! This is a must read! Happy Holidays!!!
ReplyDeleteI like the book excerpt , great review !
ReplyDeleteI like the excerpt because it really sold the book.
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt best and then your review. This book sounds like such an interesting and intriguing read. I will definitely be adding this book to my "to-read" list.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great excerpt.
ReplyDelete