All Comments on 'Sisters Ch. 04: Acceptance'

Thanks for yet another great story. I thought it told a credible account of the journey taken to deal with abuse, particularly rape. This was not an easy story to read, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Maybe I should say "journeys" as each sister had found different ways to survive, and needed to take different paths toward their recovery. The last chapter was especially well named: acceptance.

Such a tough series to read - but riveting, and starkly realistic, even at the end with both of them fighting off the shadows. A really great romantic story.

And for those of us who like trivia, this series, along with Days Forgotten, places all the stories in time. Ian would have died in 2000, and Days Forgotten would have taken place a year later. Gina described having had a cloud in her life for 11 years, which places A Strange Arrangement mostly in late 2011. Penny came home the following year, and (SPOILER) Gina and Andrew would have reunited in 2013.

Exactly right, CatsEye! I have a document with the timeline of major events all my current stories (as well as the ones in the writing process- Tristan's, Angelica's, Denise's and a few others) and character sketches listing everything we know about each character. As the "Ginaverse" (as one commentator called it) expands, I need to continue to refer to my timeline to make sure everything lines up!

Thanks for the feedback, Nageren. It was good to have my thoughts verified. Your attention to details of the "Ginaverse" has paid off. All these stories, so interconnected, and yet no conflicts across them.

Even better, though, is to know that you have more stories planned! I love all your stories and look forward to more!

What a phenomenal series -- raw, poignant, at times heart-wrenching, but all the while captivating with that hint of hopefulness. I cried. I sighed. I caught my breath. I pled for those beautiful strong women to not give up. And ultimately, I cheered. Thank you nageren for expressing your talent and sharing this series with us.

A good read really captivating me to read the whole series at continuously.

I think another chapter would be good.Would love to see how things between Hannah & Wes turns out.Did they live happily after &Did she face that demon to tell him in person he lost.

Or did hannah couldn't face the problems well like penny & eventually broke up?

5*'s

Great series! Well done once again!

This isn't the first time the Ginaverse has made me cry, but it is the hardest. Thanks for a wonderful series.

I gave you Five Stars for the whole of your works.

Have you thought of making this anthology of stories into a book? I think it would be great. Using the Shelter as an axis point would tie the whole theme together. You could then arrange the entire chronology in an order that would also serve the same purpose.

I have enjoyed your entire series; I only need to read a few of the shorter ones; I think, "The Stranger," "Unfair exchange," and "While we have this moment."

You have a great view of love and relationship (Sexual and otherwise). You also have a good sense of commitment, not as a 50/50 split, but 100% from each other. I believe you summed it up as, "two empty cups filling each other." I also was impressed that marriage begins with the decision to commit to one another, then the building of the relationship, and finally the sexual component (the component that separates marriage from all other unions between persons). What you described is exactly why an engagement was so long back in the "old days," You also infer I believe, that all other vital human bonds begin with commitment and follow up with the development of the relationship. Any other human bond is an acquaintance.

Just as an aside, you mentioned some notion of favorability with the idea of arranged marriages. In the American culture, where individuality is so highly prized, this idea is thought barbaric. However, if we consider the persons doing the arranging have greater wisdom (something that comes with unsuccessful as well as successful life experiences) plus a more objective view (unhampered by a lot of the silliness that goes with the immature frontal lobe making the snap, and often the bad decisions of young adults), and the fact that the commitment/relationship/sex triumvirate has a greater chance of operating—perhaps not always but maybe more often than not.

Your work shows so much insight into the human condition. That part alone causes your work to stand out in my opinion. My only criticism of your writing themes is what I believe is an overreliance on sexual scenarios to the point that in the course of these events they became tedious. In particular, I recall skipping several in, "A heart divided," especially when Gina is trying to woo Gareth away from Lynn. I understand that you may have been using these devices to help flesh out Gina's secret desperation but, while necessary, perhaps it is a bit overworked.

I understand using the sexual descriptions to establish pathology, but it seems awkward if it becomes too frequent. Furthermore, you seem to center a lot on a woman's sexual drive; which I believe might be a bit exaggerated in some of your stories. I may be wrong about that, but it has not been my experience; however, I am 73, so it may have been more common for succeeding generations—I bearly made the Baby Boomers.

I do hope you might consider bringing these stories into a book format. I would certainly buy it. However, if you do, I have one more suggestion, you will have about as many characters as Dostoyevsky does in his epics. How about a character list with a brief history, and in chronological order of appearance and since the history of the story covers several generations. Also, a real timeline (year and month) of when each of these stories begins.

Keep up the good work

jonjohn447@att.net (John Benson)

Wow...this is a great read!! Honestly helps a man understand better how much damage lingers in a woman after the abuse (certainly helped me understand)....even as many years have passed. Makes me rethink my take on a very special woman in my life! Thank you so much for sharing this with the world. If it read so emotionally, I can only imagine how it wrote....

Really, really excellent story with a great story line, and great writing. You wove it all together beautifully. I wanted to both read it quickly to see what would happen, and also read it slowly so it would last longer. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

That was really intense. And sobering. And not sure what to say or think about those who have suffered. Personally I am very much like Donna. Thank you for sharing

This is one of the most intense stories I’ve read. I’m so glad they got their happy endings. I wish Penny was there too.

Very insightful.

I would haveprefered Donna to have ensured that there would be a commitment to a permenant relationship before the sex, but I was born in 1950.