I mowed my yard on Sunday and spent the rest of the day with my left ankle in an Ace Wrap. I broke that ankle horribly eleven years ago and every step I take on it is one I’m thankful for. My ankle is intact and my foot is attached, but, it is not the same as it was before the break. In spite of that, I keep going.

Broken bones heal, but there is a scar. The bone scar, the callus that forms at the site of the break as it heals, is stronger than the rest of the bone and is difficult to break. The bone around the scar can break with the same ease as the first fracture. The callus is a reminder of the injury. While it is the lasting monument to the ability to heal, it can limit movement and send painful reminders of the original injury to the brain.

Heartbreak is similar in that the psyche heals but scars remain. With every heartbreak, the gash that spills our very self eventually closes with a seam in the fabric of being. The pain fades to the background but is never truly gone. A word, a look, a memory brings the wound back to the forefront just as mowing the yard reminded me of my broken ankle.

In both bones and hearts the person with the scar will either do whatever it takes to get past the pain, or avoid things that cause the scar to send messages screaming through the system. There is physical therapy to help get back to using the body after a break. Would that there was the same for broken hearts. But, the truth is, the wounds of the heart are healed only by the one who has them, when they are ready.

I never thought I would write a romance novel, but I did. In Ash on the Stairs, overcoming the scars of life is the backbone of the story. Both main characters have to step beyond the comfort of hiding from the pain in their lives.