An Off Center Mind

by Martine Pierre Louis

A young girl opens her eyes and finds herself hiding behind a dresser in a dark room. She has no idea how she got there. She hears a scream and sees her mother standing in front of a mirror. Suddenly, her mother puts her hand around a man's face, she lifts him with her grip and he levitates above the ground as her nails dig into his face. This was not a dream! Having witnessed this act of violence at the age of two, Martine became severely depressed. After two suicide attempts before the age of fourteen, she had to figure out on her own if she wanted to live or die. At the age of fifteen, Martine found and fell in love with art, by experimenting with painting images from the painful visions in her mind. Throughout the book, she weaves in the poetic narrative paintings that were inspired by her uncentered mind. She intertwines the shadows of the darkness she experienced in her childhood with the light of hope and learned how to help center her mind. The book features 73 beautiful color paintings and 9 calligraphy.