Bestselling author Cindy Benezra chatted about her acclaimed book “Under The Orange Blossoms: An Inspirational Story of Bravery and Strength.”
Book Description
Cindy doesn’t know what’s happening to her. An American teenager living in Spain is rocked by nightmares revealing dark secrets. Her childhood is being rewritten at night and everything she thought she knew about herself is wrong. She must rediscover who she is in the light of the revelations.
As a young girl, Cindy endured years of abuse at the hands of her father. As an adult, she seeks freedom from her past while also dealing with her mother’s death, divorce, and her son’s ongoing health crises.
Despite her father’s unthinkable violation, Cindy cares for him as an old man facing his mortality. In his final years, she interviews her dad, chasing his guilty confession before it’s too late.
Biography
When a traumatic event happens, do you ever feel like you cannot completely move past the trauma? It’s easy to feel angry, fearful, and unable to move forward.
In the cycles of trauma, she searched for the freckles of light to give her the hope to move forward from the heartache. Freedom took on a new meaning.
Through her memoir, “Under the Orange Blossoms,” she shares how she found healing at different stages of her life.
“We do not have to take on the role of the victim unless we allow ourselves to. You can create the outcome you choose. Nothing can be taken unless we allow it. I hope those who have walked a similar path to me find inspiration and self-compassion through my story. You are not alone,” she said.
Benezra currently lives in the greater Seattle area with her husband and four children. She finds happiness in discovering new recipes, entertaining, and decorating. She owns a luxury event business with her eldest daughter and steals away time to be with friends and family. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and traveling.
‘Under The Orange Blossoms: An Inspirational Story of Bravery and Strength’ recently hit the bestseller list, what was that like for you on a personal and a professional level to have this kind of success with your book?
I am so excited to see its success. Writing through trauma turned out to be a more challenging road than I anticipated. It took me nearly five years to complete the book. There were many times that I wanted to quit, so to see it not only finished but reaching so many people is humbling and affirming on both a personal and professional level.
In ‘Under The Orange Blossoms: An Inspirational Story of Bravery and Strength’ you tell your own story, what made you want to share it with the world? What do you hope readers take away with them when they finish reading it?
I wanted to share my story with the world because despite it being heavy, it is an all too common story. I believe that once we begin to talk about sexual abuse without fear of shame or guilt, we can begin to heal. I hope that ‘Under the Orange Blossoms’ can serve as a guide and inspiration to others on a similar journey.
I took the leap in writing ‘Under the Orange Blossoms’ because as a child, I looked for a book, to no avail, to help guide me through the trials I faced. I hope that this book will be that to others. It is my wish that my story will encourage others that there is always hope for healing and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
While your book includes trauma and heartache, it also includes a lot of hope and healing. What is one of your keys to working through trauma that you can share with our readers?
Since I was a young girl, and to this day, I rely on mantras to set the tone for my day, to help me push through difficult experiences, and to remind myself of the truths I know about myself and the world around me.
I recite these mantras in front of the mirror because there is something so powerful about not only hearing the words but seeing yourself speaking them. This practice started as a young girl, long before I knew what the word mantra meant. It was one of the tools that helped me walk through trauma as a child and I continue to use it as a tool for facing trauma today.
While writing ‘Under The Orange Blossoms,’ did you learn anything new about yourself that you can share with us?
At points in writing “Under The Orange Blossoms,” I felt like I was in an out-of-body experience. While I have spent years in therapy processing the abuse that took place as a child, writing about it in such detail and in its entirety, is completely different.
It felt odd at times to finish writing a section and reread it. It felt like I was an outsider looking into my own life. When doing this, I discovered a new level of self-appreciation and self-compassion for who I was as a young girl and the journey that I have walked through.
‘Under The Orange Blossoms’ has been very successful with readers and reviewers. Do you have another book in the works you can tell us about?
Yes! It is in the very early stages. I can say that it will be a lighter book in nature and my hope for it is to be both aesthetically uplifting, as well as uplifting to the soul.
“Under The Orange Blossoms: An Inspirational Story of Bravery and Strength” by Cindy Benezra is available on Amazon by clicking here.
