Petals from Mars

A Poignant Memoir of Inspiration and Wisdom

Judie Dziezak is no stranger to adversity. Those who kn¿öw her as an attorney, technology writer, or scientist s¿ee¿ a soft-spoken, pleasant, competent professional who courageously st¿ands¿ up for what's right even when she ¿is¿ the only one standing. What they ¿don't¿ know ¿is¿ that growing up, she wrestled with a tumultuous crescendo of abuse from her mentally ill mother. No one knew.

As an adult, that secret came back to haunt her. A soul-shattering experience wrought by an exquisitely orchestrated, premeditated lie threatened to devour her alive and pull her back into a toxic stew of drama. That situation forced a choice: accept the lie or embrace the truth and cut family ties. Which would she choose?

¿¿In ¿Dziezak's work in male-dominated fields where she was among the first few women, ¿¿and sometimes the only woman¿, struggles were not commonplace. But when they occurred, they were a doozy.¿ ¿A¿dversarial ghosts reminiscent of those from her youth surfaced: jealousy, sabotage, and disempowerment-only now primarily from a patriarchal leadership. She turned to the treasures gleaned from her early years of abuse: ¿self-reliance, ¿resilience, and inner strength. And after encountering a stream of dilemmas, she learned the ultimate lesson-the key to moving forward.

Petals from Mars is a brave, intimate chronicle of a fiery battle for holding one's power and standing firm. With keen insight, Dziezak unfolds a look into the strength of the human spirit and ¿¿how difficulty can blossom into self-discovery, compassion, understanding, and self-love.