Lost dogs, new friends and flying messengers all carry the adventure story in Debbie Jenae’s new book “If Roses Were Blue,” but amid small triumphs and childish secrets is a real war that the author herself waged.
The story targets the topic of child abuse and is about a college student who is sure her younger sister’s friend is keeping a secret — the main character helps this child work through her abusive situation.
Written for children ages 8-14, and for adult survivors, Jenae said the book is meant to inspire survivors of child abuse because of her experience living through and surviving abuse when she was a child.
“I was a very shy and quiet child and often felt invisible and unworthy,” she said. “I know that survivors struggle with these issues, many all of their lives, and never get to recognize and remember their value and potential.”
The point of writing a children’s book about the topic is to help those going through child abuse to feel less alone, to know that there’s help, and “to know the abuse does end.”
“(I wrote) the book 30 years ago,” she said. “I didn’t publish it until last year.”
She also did all of the artwork in the book, which peppers the pages throughout the story.
Jenae lived on Kauai for nine years and is now living just north of Santa Barbara, California. She spent her time on the island processing memories of abuse that occurred years prior in Michigan, and eventually moved back to the Mainland when her daughter relocated to California.
“Kauai is very special to me,” Jenae said. “I am a very spiritual person and Kauai was a remarkable place for me to heal.”
At the end of the book, Jenae has lists of important phone numbers, websites, ideas and messages for adults, and more resources. She also has tidbits about some of the locations and characters in her book — like Grandmother Tree, which is modeled after a tree in Hawaii.
Overall, the message of If Roses Were Blue is “you are so much more than you realize” — and that message is reiterated many times over and in many different ways in the story.
“There was so much I didn’t learn about life and love as a child. My recovery brought that and so much more in truly profound ways. I want to share that world with others to help them on their journey and to remind them of the ever-present goodness in the world every where and all the time — that aloha spirit,” Jenae said.
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Jessica Else, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.
