The Edge of Sadness

 Pamela J . Martin and P. Elaine Martin are twin sisters who live in Dallas, Texas where they were born and raised. They've spent their lives working, raising their children and being involved with their very large family and in their community.

Both have been writing since their teens as a means of self-expression.

The Edge of Sadness is their first collaborative work.

 Arriving at The Edge of Sadness...

It's funny how life sometimes reaches out its hand and gives you the chance to grab on. I was the "tough one" - no one could hurt me or make me cry...until that night that I sat down and started reading a book about adult children of alcoholics - not for myself, but for one of my nephews who was living with me at the time and having some serious emotional problems. But as I read, I found myself absorbed - this book was describing ME!

I'd never thought of myself that way before - my father was an alcoholic, but he left when I was five. For the first time I realized the impact that even those few short years had made. I found a therapist that I trusted and grabbed on to the hand that life held out.

P. Elaine Martin

I was the weak one...quiet, shy and emotional. I cried easily and often. That, and the fact that I was tiny at birth, were the reasons Daddy "favored" me. I never felt his wrath but I was torn between my love for him and for my siblings. I learned to hide my feelings; first by running away physically (to our own pet cemetery at the end of- the block); then emotionally; stuffing my sadness, anger and confusion deep down inside.

I spent most of my life being depressed but in 1985, after seeing my husband through a three-year battle, with cancer and ending up on the verge of suicide, my life changed. By the grace of God I was able to seek help and unlock the flood of emotions that was boiling just beneath the surface.

Pamela J. Martin

"Let's drink a toast to those who best survived the life they've led"    

-Janis Ian