'Heart Aches & Rainy Days'
The trials and tribulations of one woman and her child trying to survive
in a house of domestic violence.
Heart Aches & Rainy Day Review by T.E. SImmers August 28, 2004
Heart Aches & Rainy Days, by debut novelist Jacki Ortiz, is a powerful, thought provoking, and disturbing glimpse into the psychotic mind of an abuser. Though the characters and events are fictional, the story holds nothing back in terms of the very real mental and physical abuse many women endure by their intimate partners. The story will shock its audience from beginning to the end. Page after page, readers will be tempted to pound their fists on the table in anger, as Ortiz takes them through the harrowing life a "silent victim of domestic violence" endures.
Jessica clings tightly to her memories of the past. How could her marriage to Paul, a marriage of gentle love in the beginning, turn into her daily struggle for survival? Jessica often wonders what she did wrong to spark the physically and sexually abusive behaviors of her husband. She prays and clings to the hope that someday her husband will see the physical and mental scars of his abuse, and when he does, things will be as they were in the beginning of her marriage--was she ever wrong!
Heart Aches & Rainy Days is a fictional story that pushes domestic violence to the edge. It will sicken you. It will enrage you. It is not a story easily read, yet it is also a story not easily forgotten. Jacki Ortiz deserves much applause for boldly incorporating the subject of domestic violence in her fictional writing. Though the content of the story is quite disturbing, the story itself is ingenious in the ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats.
The worn out cliche of "truth is stranger than fiction" comes to my mind after reading Heart Aches & Rainy Days. For though fiction produces a story of horror, the moral truth of the story is strong: To end domestic violence, is to end silent voices.
Review by T. E. Simmers
August 28, 2004
Heart Aches & Rainy Days Review by Diana Minor June 26, 2005
First of all, I'd like to say I'm not a reader, but this book is great! I couldn't put it down and finished it in no time at all. Yes, it is that interesting. It is put together very well and Ortiz writes so well that you put yourself in the characters situation while reading it. Knowing someone in this situation in real life myself, it angers me. If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, you need to read this book. This book is well worth the price and I hope to see more from Ortiz very, very soon.
Review by Diana Minor June 26, 2005
Heart Aches & Rainy Days Review by Lynda Hales Spring 2005
Jacki Ortiz has written a compelling, frightening tale of a woman trapped in an abusive marriage with no way out. Hold your stomach as you read this story. Jacki has helped me understand why a woman stays in a situation that seems untenable. You will cheer at the end, but I wished a worse punishment for Paul. I wished the cops had gotten to him and he had been thrown in prison for the rest of his life. I kept waiting and waiting for Jessica to get a backbone, but when she finally does, you will be surprised. I don’t want to spoil the thrilling and gut-clenching ending, so I’ll just say hang on. It’s a wild ride.
Lynda Hale Treacherous Love - Spring 2005 ISBN# 1-4137-6165-8
National Domestic Violence Hotline
If something about your relationship is scaring you, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH): 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY for the Deaf: 1-800-787-3244. Advocates are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help you by answering questions, assisting in safety plans, or directly connecting you to resources in your local calling area.
