Seeking Solace

SEEKING SOLACE is the debut memoir of poet Tonia Jaehn- aka Zae Rankin. It celebrates how the belated power of her self-determination defeats adversity. At age 2, she grapples with food allergies stemming partly from her mother's stormy pregnancy and passionate cravings for sugary treats. External environmental factors causes Zae's acute asthma, which requires several hospitalization to save her life. Thus, a dependency on prescription drugs. As an older adult, she is victimized by a hit and run crime still unsolved She sustains substantial nerve damage. No cure for fibromyalgia - just reliance on loads of other medications. After a while, they become ineffective, so she embraces vodka. Chronic abuse steers her life toward gut wrenching down falls and more near-death episodes. Worse, her crack cocaine addiction leads to eye-popping sexual depravity and botched male/female relationships. In the end, though, she digs deeper into her soul and makes a stunning reversal: self-rehabilitation that eventually brings substantial solace in her life. Her love of domesticated animals, now for her latest Chihuahua "Allison", is a motivating factor... a priceless replacement for her departed, long-term friend and companion, Solas, a Maltipoo mix breed.