About the
Book:
Torch in the Dark tells the moving story
of how Hadiyah Joan Carlyle, a single mother haunted by memories of her own
traumatic childhood, pioneered as one of the first women since World War II to
enter the trades as a union welder. Beginning in a Jewish immigrant
neighborhood in New Jersey, the story moves through San Francisco’s colorful
Haight-Ashbury in the sixties to arrive at Fairhaven Shipyard in Bellingham,
Washington. For Hadiyah, welding becomes a metaphor for healing from the dark
past as well as a path to self-reliance and economic survival.
While
providing insightful perspective on the culture of the 1960’s and 1970’s, Torch in the Dark offers profound
inspiration for anyone struggling with issues of abuse and oppression.
Overall
Thoughts:
I had a bit
of a hard time getting into this memoir as the writing is more blunt and
pointed into the facts at the beginning. As you get past the first few
chapters, you start to understand and see through Hadiyah’s eyes. She tells a
very compelling story about how she dealt with many facets of life I’m sure
readers will never encounter during their lifetime. Your heart is pulled in
many different directions and at times you find yourself wanting to reach into
the pages to mentor and guide as you see the choice about to be made will lead
down a long, pot filled and brush covered path.
What I found
most appealing about this book is how Hadiyah didn’t allow others to influence
her as she grew and began carving out a future. She held to the beliefs she
gained through those troubled times which helped her discover herself and the
relationship she has with her son. As a once single mother myself, I related to
much of what Hadiyah went through and I applauded her for persevering through
it all.
Publisher: Book Publishers Network;
1st edition (March 20, 2012)
ISBN-10: 1937454231
ISBN-13: 978-1937454234
Genre:
Memoir
Available in
Print & eBook
Purchase a
copy at: Elliott Bay Books, Couth Buzzard Books, Village Books, Amazon,
SmashWords, B&N and anywhere indie books are sold online.
About the Author:
Hadiyah Joan
Carlyle grew up in a Jewish immigrant neighborhood in New Jersey, became active
in the Civil Right movement of the sixties and migrated to San Francisco’s
colorful Haight-Ashbury to be part of the counter-culture there. In the
seventies, she was the first and only female shipyard welder in Bellingham,
Washington, north of Seattle.
In the
eighties, Hadiyah returned to the East coast to earn her MSW at Rutgers
University. In 2003, she completed the certificate program in Memoir Writing
through the University of Washington Extension. She is an active member of Seattle’s
thriving community of writers.
Today
Hadiyah lives in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood close to her son, Washington
State 36th district Legislator Reuven Carlyle, his wife Dr. Wendy
Carlyle and their four children. Activist, hiker, devoted grandmother, Hadiyah
delights in the wild beauty of the Northwest while remaining connected to her
gritty urban East Coast roots.
Though
welding is no longer a part of her life, she continues to carry the torch for
the empowerment of the oppressed.
You can find
out more about Hadiyah Joan Carlyle, Torch
in the Dark and her World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/chrfo3t
Follow
Hadiyah Joan Carlyle at
Author
Website http://www.torchinthedark.com
Twitter
@CarlyleHadiyah
Facebook https://facebook.com/hadiyahcarlyle
Publisher
Website http://www.bookpublishernetwork.com