Roanoke novelist Gina Holmes has seen domestic abuse in her family – emotional and physical – and has dealt with it herself. She’s been through a failing marriage and an unsettled home life growing up before that. That upbringing has also been a source of inspiration for Holmes, a writer who uses Christian-themed overtones in her books. Tyndale Publishing has just released her third novel, Wings of Glass.
Holmes has already delivered her fourth book draft to the publisher and is working on the rewrite now, and she has a contract for several others with the publisher as well. “Out of all the books I’ve written this book is closest to my heart,” said Holmes about Wings of Glass, “because it deals with domestic abuse. It’s something I lived through myself.” That life experience also included watching her mother being “brutally beaten by several men in her life.” Holmes vowed it would never happen to her, that she would steer clear of that scenario in her relationships.
“It’s easy to say that, that you won’t let it happen,” noted Holmes, who also watched two sisters endure abusive relationships. “Again I thought that will never be me – until my then-boyfriend hit me.” Growing up in a dysfunctional family makes it hard to realize what normal is, according to Holmes. An environment where domestic abuse, alcoholism or drug abuse is prevalent starts to become the norm. “You sort of normalize it, because you have to – even though you know logically that its wrong. It’s a survival mechanism in a way for many.”
Wings of Glass involves a woman named Penny, trapped in an abusive relationship from a young age. She has allies in the book urging her to break free, but it’s hard for the young woman to take the step. That decision – to stay or leave – and the events that lead up to that possible conclusion provide the creative tension in Wings of Glass. Holmes, a nurse by trade currently focusing full time on her writing, recommends two books for people dealing with abusive situations: Codependent No More and Boundaries, which she calls a “life changer.”
It really didn’t get much easier for Holmes when writing her third novel, and she’s already looking at a massive rewrite with a short deadline for her fourth title. She appeared recently on the Dr. Oz TV show – but not to talk about her book, but about food allergies. Driving a stick shift through Times Square in Manhattan was a nerve-wracking highlight.
Holmes recently signed copies of Wings of Glass at Books-A-Million, which will close in April. She laments the dwindling options for readers and local authors – local booksellers Cantos and Ram’s Head are long gone, as is national chain Walden Books. It means fewer venues for area writers like Holmes to have their books displayed, although they are available at online sellers like Amazon.com.
Divorce as one way to leave a bad marriage is always a sticky situation for those of a strong faith background – “God hates divorce,” Holmes notes, but there are causes for divorce, infidelity among them, that are justified in the Bible according to Holmes.
Domestic abuse is not clearly identified however. There’s a scene in the book where an unsympathetic pastor tries to counsel Penny to stand by her man no matter what the situation, due to religious concerns, but Holmes said the right questions need to be asked, “about what is really going on. Once we get to the bottom of it [divorce may be justified].”
Emotional abuse can be just as prevalent if not more than domestic abuse. “I don’t think God wants that for any of us,” said Holmes, “but I don’t think we’re asking the right questions.” In her own failed relationship Holmes made excuses for her husband – he’s having a bad day, he’s stressed from work, etc. – but when a friend came to rescue her and she was attacked by the husband, Holmes knew it was time to move on. “At that point it wasn’t hard [to leave]. But until then it was.”
Crossing Oceans and Dry as Rain (the hardest novel for her to write so far) preceded Wings of Glass. “The closer a story is to my heart the easier it is to write,” noted Holmes. With Wings of Glass, which includes several pages of resources at the end for those in abusive situations, she clearly writes from the heart, hoping others will identify with the situation at hand – and find hope.
By Gene Marrano