Guardians' Betrayal

Seven years after adoption, 17-year-old Shayla gets a Facebook message from her long-forgotten half-sister that turns her world upside down. Her adoptive mom Bernice, an overworked social worker, longs for a vacation with her husband without their four children. Her adoptive dad Tom starts an affair with his receptionist. The message from Shayla's long-lost older sister starts off a chain of events, which escalates to a full-blown disaster when Tom leaves the family. During the eight months of crisis, Bernice, Tom, and Shayla see everything in completely different ways and act according to their own versions of the truth. "Guardians' Betrayal" is told from the point of view of the three main characters, with interwoven alternating perspectives of Shayla, her mom Bernice, and her dad Tom. The reader will discover that there's more to a family than meets the eye, as painful discoveries resurface from the past. "Guardians' Betrayal" is a book for adults and mature young adults with an interest in adoption.

Are relationships between guardians and children strong enough to weather the truth of trauma? "Guardians' Betrayal" is told from three characters' points of view: Shayla, her mom Bernice, and her dad Tom. Shayla's birth parents abandoned her. At age ten she came into foster care with her younger sister, Abby. Tom and Bernice adopted both girls soon after. Shayla is insecure and doesn't have a lot of friends. Seven years after adoption, her long-forgotten older sister contacts her and announces her birth dad wants to reconnect. Her past abandonment haunts her, her terrifying flashbacks lead her to begin shoplifting. All hell breaks loose when Bernice wants to slow down a reconnection with her birth dad. Shayla uncharacteristically rebels and starts keeping secrets from her mom. She begins partying and plans to lose her virginity so her crush can turn into her boyfriend. Bernice suspects Tom is having an affair and has him followed by a P.I., who confirms what she feared. She confronts Tom, and he leaves the family. Bernice has trouble accepting the reality of raising a family alone and fails in dealing with a rebellious Shayla without Tom. She realizes she needs help when she discovers Shyla's self-harming and contacts Shayla's birth-dad. Tom hates that all of Bernice's attention is for the children. He moves in with his new love, but life isn't as wonderful as he expected. The shine soon disappears, and he begins to miss the equality and fairness of his marriage with Bernice. With the re-appearance of Shayla's birth dad, his place in the family is at risk. This story shows there's more to a family than meets the eye.

Johanna was born and raised in The Netherlands. She obtained a Fine Arts degree in Amsterdam and entered the social work profession as a creative therapist in an addiction treatment center in Amsterdam. She immigrated to Canada in her early thirties, married a Canadian, had a daughter, and returned to university; she graduated from University of Victoria in BC with a Bachelor's degree in social work. Since 1982, she worked in a variety of community settings and positions in Albert and BC – the last 17 years in child protection.   She discovered writing later in life and finally put her long-held wish to write a book one day into action with publishing On Thin Ice – a short story collection – in 2012 while taking intensive writing courses, enjoying the act of writing as a life-giving force. Johanna wrote her stories to inspire and entertain her readers, and share what life taught her.