Spells for Surviving a Haunted Childhood: Part Two

In this second installment of the poetic memoir series Spells for Surviving a Haunted Childhood, the story picks up as the author begins to carve out space for healing, identity, and emotional survival after years of neglect and abandonment. Told in lyrical vignettes and woven with healing spells, Part Two explores what it means to grow up haunted-and still hold hope. Now living with her father in a completely different home, the narrator begins third grade and meets Raven, the girl who becomes her first real best friend. But just as trust and joy start to take root, new shadows creep in: a brother fresh out of legal trouble, a volatile stepmother figure with claws painted red, and the ghosts of old wounds that haven't yet healed. Themes of friendship, self-protection, boundaries, and emotional awakening run through every chapter, each one anchored by a symbolic object and ending with a spell crafted for survival. From sleepovers and secrets to family fractures and quiet courage, Book Two is about learning what you deserve-and daring to believe you can have it. For readers of literary memoir, trauma narratives, and lyrical creative nonfiction, this book is both mirror and medicine. It resonates deeply with adult survivors of childhood emotional neglect, dysfunction, and complex family dynamics. Spells for Surviving a Haunted Childhood: Part Two is a continuation, a reckoning, and a rising. It reminds us that surviving isn't just about what you escaped-it's about who you become in the aftermath.

About the Author :
Barbara Latinka is a memoirist, poet, and trauma survivor who writes at the intersection of memory and magic. With a voice rooted in emotional honesty and lyrical clarity, her work explores childhood trauma, family estrangement, and the healing power of language. She is the author of the three-part memoir series Spells for Surviving a Haunted Childhood, a genre-defying collection told through poetic vignettes and ritual-like spells.Her other published works include Tiny Spells for Big Feelings, a spellbook children of all ages learning to process big emotions, and Keeper of the Light, a gentle easy reader that reimagines the author's ghost girl as a beacon of empathy and hope. They also created Create Your Own Grimoire: A Mindfulness Prompt Journal-a guided space for readers to reflect, reclaim, and cast their own healing narratives.Through her imprint, Haunted Light Productions, Barbara is committed to creating books that hold space for survivors, sensitive souls, and anyone who has ever felt invisible. Her stories speak to the shadowed parts of life-and offer language as a form of light.

Review :
'Spells For Surviving A Haunted Childhood felt like more than just a story. It was something special, unique, and unlike anything I've ever read.' 'It is a fresh take on meditation and mental health.' 'Trauma is a hard thing to write about, even harder to make relatable. This story is relatable, vividly detailed, and harsh; much like real life.' 'The magic lies in sharing. Sharing is how we heal. May this story help us heal.' 'This is going to help so many people.'