The Journey ~ It Was Difficult But Better Than Suicide

March 27, 2009 - PRLog -- I am looking for experienced writers, journalists, publishers, editors, newspapers, magazines to help me with a book and to publish stories so I can reach the public to talk about a journey of courage and of hope

Ann Ball, an author of about 30 books, was helping me write my book, when she died last June.  I know she would want me to continue on with the project.  She had the greatest belief in me, the story and saw that my struggle and courage could help others.  I want to remember her by finishing the project that she started.  There are so many wounded people in the world.  A kind word or encouragement is sometimes enough to help someone over the hill from a life in the hot, dry desert to find the green pastures that will lead them on to a better life.

By Pauline Quinn, O.P.
With Ann Ball
http://prisondogs.shutterfly.com/
http://srpaulina.blogspot.com/

For centuries, the Dominicans, a religious order in the Catholic Church, have been known as the “dogs of God.”  Their name comes from this sobriquet in Latin: domini (god) cani (dogs).   As a Dominican, Sister Pauline Quinn has worked like a dog for God, literally.  She credits her canine friends with being a large part of her own rehabilitation from a dehumanized existence filled with abuse and trauma.  With them, she began to build a life of meaning for herself, and went on to bring hope, help and meaning to the lives of countless others.

“As I met people of every class and race as I traveled the world, one central thread seemed to weave them together.   It was an echo of misplaced souls searching for meaning in life. Desperate to make sense of their existence, they sought a purpose for their pain and suffering.  The hopelessness of prisoners condemned to spend the rest of their life in prison, the sadness of refugees who have not only lost their way but their families as well, the pain of the abused and battered  who have nothing to cling to that will bring them hope, are all people who helped me make sense of my life as I learned to serve them. For me, their suffering and my opportunity to help them, became a cornerstone on which to re-build my own shattered life. After years of searching, clinging to only a dream, my life took root, bursting forth like the green buds of spring. I want to share my journey in order to bring hope to the hopeless. I pray that my story can be a small candle, a flicker of light, to help others down their sometimes dark and lonely pathway.” – Pauline Quinn, O.P.

This is the story of how a young woman from an affluent background was sexually and emotionally abused, struggled through years of pain and self abuse and became a powerful advocate for others with difficult lives.  

In 2001, actress Ellen Burstyn produced and stared in the made-for-tv movie, Within These Walls which introduced Sr. Pauline Quinn’s prison-dog-program to a worldwide audience. The movie’s recent release on video and DVD is further publicizing this part of Sister Pauline’s remarkable life.  

The story further details the rest of her life and her struggle with constant emotional pain as she works for the good of marginalized people throughout the world. Her story is a pathway to hope for others who will find her victory a beacon of light for their own struggles through the darkness of abuse, post traumatic stress, and self abuse syndrome.

# # #

Pathways To Hope is a non profit organization where we start programs in prisons where inmates train dogs to help the handicapped, as well as helping victims of trauma and wounded children in third world countries.