Like the best of memoir writing, My Invisible Scars is alternately brutally honestly, sad, triumphant, tense, motivating, uncomfortable and unforgettable. Relying on journals that she has kept since childhood, Canadian author Willa-Mae E. Scot articulately recounts in (mostly) chronological order the highs and lows of her long life, beginning with her early childhood in a small Saskatchewan town. Willa Mae writes candidly about terrible disappointments, life-threatening ordeals, and her incredible and unwavering determination to put aside countless negative experiences, and live, embrace and enjoy life to the fullest.

This memoir is a must-read book for anyone whose life has been derailed by the unexpected loss of a loved one, violence, family break-up, infidelity, addictions, abandonment, or by poor, sometimes non-existent choices. Those who have suffered through trauma and struggled to put that trauma behind them will see their journey reflected in these pages and be reassured that, even when down at rock bottom, they can find a way to be happy again.

My Invisible Scars is instructive and inspiring, enlightening and engaging, and a great testament to its author’s tremendous courage and forthrightness. Most of all it is a testament to her enviable ability to offer forgiveness to the many people who have hurt her, and then gracefully move forward in life.

Willa-Mae E. Scot has kept a journal her entire life, but it was only recently that the now eighty-something year-old was encouraged to stitch her thousands of journal entries together and write the story of that life.

Her story began when a loving family in a small town in Saskatchewan; was shattered by repeated tragedy and trauma; and then gradually pieced together by love, determination, and a philosophy that Willa-Mae refers to as Radical Forgiveness, as she learned from Colin Tipping’s book.

Willa-Mae worked for years as a college business educator and later as a personal counsellor, determined to help others find happiness in their lives. An avid traveller, who loves Mexico and Costa Rica, Willa-Mae lives in Western Canada with her husband and spends as much time as she can with her adult children and grandchildren.