Missing Parts

by Barbara Joy Laffey

Heartbreak, transformation, and an unthinkable dilemma that challenges everything

Synposis

When you lose parts of your body, you often lose parts of your soul as well. Or perhaps it’s the connection to soul that is lost through the wounding, the pain, and the grief—physical, emotional, spiritual.

Missing Parts tells the story of one woman’s journey through that loss into wholeness.

From adolescence to adulthood, Barbara Joy surrenders parts of herself to a patriarchal world, saying yes to others’ choices instead of her own instincts, in search of love and belonging. When her brother needs a bone marrow transplant to save his life, her body finally says no, loud and clear. In that moment, decades of life lessons and her own body-wisdom provide the clarity and courage it will take to choose.

Missing Parts models a way out of our preconditioned roles and responses toward a deeper inner connection and authenticity—trusting that our body-soul wisdom will never lead us astray.

QUOTES FROM MISSING PARTS

“I have come to believe that the soul, deeply wounded and deeply opened, calls out. And that soul’s call is heard in some other language on some other plane, and that call is answered.”
“Perhaps it was true that love – real love – could indeed conquer all. And perhaps it was true that love is available to all of us if we are only willing to work our way past all the anger and all the pain.”
“I began to understand that my body spoke its own truth in its own language, and that it never lied to me. I began to accept my body’s smallest messages, no matter how or when they appeared, and even though I didn’t always understand what they were trying to tell me.”
“A cancer diagnosis is a rude awakening. Like an earthquake to a soul deep in slumber, it tosses you out of bed, slams you into a wall, then rattles your entire structure as you crawl over broken glass trying to find your way out to the light. That wake-up call turned out to be one of the greatest gifts I ever received.”

Praise

“Every woman knows what it feels like to override her own instincts and desires. Missing Parts is a vulnerable, brave, powerful, and clear-eyed reckoning with all that we repress and uncover as we learn to heal and know our most intimate selves.”

—Anne Liu Kellor, author of Heart Radical: A Search for Language, Love, and Belonging

“An excellent writer. I could not put it down.”

— Melody Beattie, author of Codependent No More and The Language of Letting Go

“This story contains wisdom we can all learn from, as it describes one woman’s journey to find the sacred core within.”

— Elinor Dickson, author of Dancing in the Flames: The Dark Goddess in the Transformation of Consciousness

“A real page-turner. Her story is truly a journey toward wholeness.”

—Stephen Rowley, author of The Lost Coin: A Memoir of Adoption and Destiny

“What makes this book so compelling is that Barbara Joy's journey reaches far beyond her own story, revealing something deeply human about the courage it takes to honor what we know to be true.”

—Linda Nardelli, author of Mystical Intimacy: Entering into a Conscious Relationship with Your Spirit and Human Nature

“Missing Parts is a riveting read of a memoir with the page-turning quality of a thriller. Barbara Joy Laffey’s remarkable wisdom is a through-line ... Her imperative that we listen to our bodies’ messages is crucial and lifesaving.”

—Marn Norwich, Vancouver-based author, playwright, and writing workshop facilitator

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