The book is a virtual offering of hope to anyone with a thirst for healing and forgiveness.
Ormatian eloquently travels through the various tragedies of her life, drifting from a perilous to a religious life. Her candid narrative creates an empowering connection with the reader as she details a life of drug addiction, emotional abuse by her mother, two abortions during her teenage years and a marriage that was doomed before it even began.
Ormatian portrays her mother as cold, hateful and uncaring but only towards her. She recounts how her mother often punished her for no apparent reason, by sending her to sit in a dark corner of a closed closet for hours at a time and letting her out shortly before her father arrived home from work.
“I’d sometimes wonder whether she’d forgot me in there, but she always remembered to get me out before my father arrived,” Ormatian recalls. Around other people, including her father, Ormatian’s mother would be sweet, loving and nurturing.
“Stormie” eloquently allows the reader to feel the pain Ormatian endured resulting from rejection by her mother. Ormatian, however, never actually refers to her mother as evil and hateful.
Forgiveness and Faith
Strangely, Susan, Ormatian’s younger sister, was never rejected by their mother, leading the reader to mistakenly conclude that Ormatian was obviously a stepchild. Ormatian’s artistry keeps the reader curious, waiting until the last third of her book to reveal that her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia; this when the struggle with forgiveness begins for Ormatian.
The most challenging obstacle for Ormatian was sympathizing with her mother on one hand while on the other hand trying to find enduring strength to forgive her. Sadly their relationship was never established before her mother’s death.
President George Bush declared a national day of prayer when 9/11 struck. Kathleen Blanco, then Louisiana Governor, declared a day of prayer when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and other surrounding cities. Likewise, Ormatian turned to God when everything tumbled to the ground.
Ormatian’s objective is clear: Sharing her tragic childhood and how she started praying and believing in God.
Readers strive for happy endings. This book leaves the reader yearning for more and wishing Ormatian had unveiled the more joyous times of her life, such as her second marriage to Michael Ormatian and raising their three children. Perhaps lacing "Stormie" with the happy experiences would fulfill Ormatian's story of ultimate happiness, healing, forgiveness and peace within herself.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe brain disorder that disables mental functions and triggers hallucinations and paranoia.
The National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) reports that an estimated 2.4 million American adults, (approximately 1.1 percent of the U.S.) have schizophrenia. Most individuals who suffer from Schizophrenia also suffer from being stereotyped as bad parents “due to lack of public understanding.”
"Stormie" undoubtedly raises the question: "How many children experience the kind of pain Ormatian endured because a parent suffers from schizophrenia?"
Ormatian, Stormie (1997). Stormie: A Story of Forgiveness and Healing. Harvest House Publishers. ISBN-10: 1565078322
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