Getting Off the Radiator

Dorothy Preston

Jun 2021 · Shanti Arts Publishing

About this ebook

Dorothy Preston’s debut memoir, Getting Off the Radiator: A Story of Shame, Guilt, and Forgiveness, is the story of a child growing up in a twenty-eight-room mansion infested with roaches and overrun with hippies, thieves, drug abusers, alcoholics, and a murderer. The youngest of seven children abandoned by their father, Preston watched while her mother struggled to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads while also diving deeper into the bottle, standing in line for welfare, and renting rooms in their home for income. Given the cast of characters who passed through the house and the absence of parental guidance, the family lived the life of a twisted fairy tale in which shame, guilt, and anger played leading roles. Preston recounts her journey through childhood into adulthood, her years waging battles with her difficult past, overcoming adversity, practicing forgiveness, and cherishing the love of a family whose bonds cannot be broken. Beautifully written and accompanied by intimate family photographs, this is a memoir that breaks open what it means to live with a difficult past while struggling to embrace a hopeful future.

About the author

Dorothy Preston has a degree in communications/media and has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years, including at Prentice Hall/Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin, and Little Brown, to name a few. She has lived in Maine, New Hampshire, and New York, but is currently settled in her native state of Massachusetts in Johnny Appleseed country just outside of Boston. She and her husband recently purchased land in Downeast Maine, and are planning on settling there in the next few years. If Preston is not hiking, cycling, running, or skiing, she’s taking in the aroma of apples and tapping away on her computer at her house on the hill with her dog, Rylee. It is her hope that by sharing her journey with those who have gone through similar ordeals, others might learn that forgiveness truly is divine and along with it comes peace.