Petals from Mars is a brave, intimate chronicle of a fiery battle for holding one’s power and standing firm when life demands submission. A story about refusing to be defined by one’s environment. It takes the reader on a journey through adversity, triumph, secrets, jealousy, disempowerment, and sabotage. Judie Dziezak’s words evoke hope and inspiration. With keen insight, she unfolds a look into the strength of the human spirit and how difficulty can blossom into inner strength, resilience, self-love, compassion, and a deep connection to our inner wisdom.

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Those who know Dziezak as an attorney, scientist, or technology editor see a soft-spoken, pleasant, competent professional who has it all together and courageously stands up for what’s right even when she is the only one standing. But what they don’t know is that she harbors a dark secret: growing up, she wrestled with a tumultuous crescendo of abuse from her mentally ill mother.

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

In her work in male-dominated professions where she is the only woman or among the first few women, struggles are not commonplace. But when they occur, they are a doozy. As adversarial ghosts of jealousy, sabotage, and disempowerment, reminiscent of those from her youth, surface, Dziezak turns to the treasures gleaned from her early years of abuse: resilience, inner strength, wisdom, and heightened intuition. And after encountering a stream of dilemmas, she learns the ultimate lesson—the key to moving forward.

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“Petals from Mars was meant to be written. It is not the book I initially set out to write, however,” says Dziezak. “I was working on a self-help book. At twenty-four pages into my writing, I realized that if I truly want to help people, I needed to share a secret I had held lifelong. I needed to tell my story—one that many people, similarly situated, could relate to but keep under wraps out of shame from others ‘finding out’ what kind of home they come from or fear of being seen as a victim.

“By sharing insights gleaned from my struggles,” continued Dziezak, “I hope the book inspires people to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and to reach for the stars, no matter what. If a reader relates to any situation set out in the book and that helps in their healing or learning, the book would have accomplished its purpose.”