Title: Break the Chains
Genre: Memoir
Author: Jay D Roberts, MD
Website: jdrobertsmd.com
Publisher: Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC
If
you were abused over and over again, would you become an abuser? Or would you
learn to forgive? Dr. Jay Roberts had to go to prison to learn the answer.
In
1999 Dr. Roberts was in at-home hospice care preparing for his own death from a
neurological disease. At the point where he finally gave up, he experienced a
spontaneous, overnight healing. It was not the first time he had “cheated”
death. He had survived a fifty-foot fall from a cliff, a plane crash, and
attempts on his life by rebel insurgents in remote areas in the Philippines in
1970s. This near-death escape was different though, because it was the
culmination of a turbulent lifelong dialogue with God which started when he was
a child being bull-whipped by his alcoholic father. Yet even after his complete
recovery from disease, it would take a maximum security prison environment to
reveal to him the mysterious power of forgiveness.
In
the telling of his fascinating story—of extreme abuse, of the compulsion to
become a pain and wound care specialist, of medical school in a third world
country against a dangerous political backdrop, and of his return home to deal
with the demons he’d left behind—Dr. Roberts tackles the big questions
illuminating physical, mental, and spiritual growth. Break the Chains affirms faith in both God and the human spirit. It
is as revealing and inspirational as it is truthful and poignant.
THE
STORY BEHIND BREAK THE CHAINS:
As
a young child, I didn’t believe God existed. I had prayed and prayed for God to
stop my torment, but He didn’t.
As
I grew, I kept hearing, “Jesus loves the little children…”
So
I figured that if God does love kids, he surely hates me.
And,
He must hate me because I am bad, so I should be beaten more. I deserved to be
tortured.
And
I was.
So
I figured I was right after all.
As
a child and adult I knew to keep my mouth shut and never speak of what went on
inside our home. I would never tell. Never.
Years
and years past, then I got sick. After I almost died, I became obsessed with
four things—writing my story, ministering in maximum security prisons, helping
the wounded, and building an orphanage.
Writing
my story has been the most difficult. I had to remove a wall of stones from
around my heart that had protected me for years. It became too painful and I
stopped writing. I tossed many a nights fighting a passion to write against the
fear that it would kill my mother for telling the secret. Two years later, the
battle was over. I could no longer squelch my thirst to write.
My
mother read the promotional copy for my book. She is still alive.
Any
day now she will start reading the book. I pray that she has strength and an
open mind as my story unfolds in her hands. A story she already knows, but one
never spoken and definitely not in print.
My
wife, two sons, and sister have read the book and have praised me.
My
brother refuses to talk about the book and to hear anything negative about his
father.
A
cousin is upset that I would “bad mouth my family… and anyway, no one would
ever buy my book.”
Many
have hurts and pains, and are bounded by their chains.
I
am willing to take the hits from my family, if by telling my story I can help
others to forgive, break their chains, and set them free.
Author bio:
Jay
D Roberts MD is a board-certified physiatrist, specializing in the treatment of
physical disabilities with a focus of adding quality to life. He is currently
in private practice in California. He is a member and lecturer at national and
international conferences related to his specialty, a contributing author to Current Trends in Physiatry, and author
of various scientific papers. In addition to his career, Dr. Roberts volunteers
as part of a Christian ministry in maximum security prisons. He and
his wife, parents of two grown sons, live in Indian Wells, California. Break the Chains is Dr. Roberts’ first
book. Following in the long tradition of doctors who combine their passion for
saving lives with their passion for writing, Dr. Roberts is currently at work
on a novel, concerning children forced to work in mines.
BUY BREAK THE CHAINS ON AMAZON / B&N / TATE PUBLISHING
Every now and again I get a chance to watch one of the television court programs, and I am always amazed at the number of cases that are brought by family members against each other. Recently I saw one where the judge made the plaintiff and defendant - relatives - hug each other and make up right there in front of the television camera. It was a very moving scene.
