Life’s journey is all about climbing hills and navigating valleys and most people struggle, according to author Shirley Rappach.
Valley View, OH, February 23, 2011 — Life’s journey is all about climbing hills and navigating valleys and most people struggle, according to author Shirley Rappach.
“But, everyone thinks they are alone,” she said. “My book lets them know they are not.” Single Parents – You are Not Alone is a book Rappach created from her personal journals, but her “voice” speaks to other parents who have had similar experiences.
“The journey of a single parent is hard, and sometimes almost impossible to endure. I wanted to share some of my experiences as an example for people everywhere, whether a single parent or not, to know that no one is alone. I hope that my voice in unity with others will awaken the world to the plight of single parents.”
The only daughter in a family of four children, Rappach grew up in Vienna, Ohio, located in Trumbull County near the Pennsylvania border, and graduated from Mathews High School in 1977. By 1985, she had two daughters with her first husband and had lived in several different states including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida where he found work as a tradesman painter. That year, the couple split up and the girls spent every other weekend with their father, she said.
After the divorce, Rappach became involved with another man who she moved to Arizona with after her mother died. She had a daughter with him, but that relationship also ended. When her baby was only seven months old, the dad exited their lives and the mother of three returned home after living in Arizona for six years, to be close to her family who, gratefully, provided a lot of help to the single parent. Rappach was journaling her experiences and struggles, which she admits included a lot of “unhealthy choices” and some alcohol and drug use. Eventually, she started seeking another way of living.
“I started going to church, because my way wasn’t working,” Rappach said. “I just started praying because I didn’t know what to do.”
While living in Arizona, she had a leadership role in a singles ministry, “Thirty Something,” where she saw a broad spectrum of issues facing the life of a singles. She also served in a leadership capacity with “Complete in Him Ministries”, a Cleveland group that reaches out to single parents and the divorced. In the summer of 2009, when she attended “The Fest,” an annual Northern Ohio Christian festival, Rappach learned about self-publishing and found a way to share her “voice” with others.
A proud grandmother of three, the author and her husband of about one year live in Wickliffe, with her youngest daughter, now 17. The family worships at the Community of the Holy Spirit church in Willoughby. Rappach is a legal assistant for a Beachwood law firm and an Avon products representative. She prays that Single Parents – You are Not Alone will offer hope to other parents who feel lost and alone.
To schedule an interview with Shirley Rappach, call her at 440-364-1851. To order Single Parents – You are Not Alone, visit Halo Publishing International at http://www.halopublishing.com.
Press & Media Contact:
Lisa M. Umina
Publisher & Award-Winning Author
Halo Publishing International
5549 Canal Road
Valley View, OH 44125
216-255-6756 / 877-705-9647
lisa@halopublishing.com
