Mark Penn

The Middle Passage Mark Penn

In compiling this anthology, the intention is to carry men through a personal healing journey. Why a men's collection of a personal journey to healing? To tell the authentic version of his narrative and not the voice of the representative. The representative speaks from a place of emotional, mental, and spiritual brokenness and bondage. More often than not, the representative fosters the ideology of male dominance and the overly saturated idea that it is the "natural order" that men must be tough, stoic, invulnerable, violent when necessary, and certainly not allowed to their truth and exhibit emotions. Participating in this reinforced behavior for so many years has perpetuated many stumbling blocks around ideas that prevent men from being authentic and genuine to themselves first and others. It is no secret that most men have a forced difficulty communicating their emotions or their hidden desire to share what the soul would love to express without fear of judgment, resentment, or shame. A faulty environment has nurtured where men find security when they choose to hold feelings of loneliness, spiritual and emotional hurt, pain, brokenness, and sorrow inside. Contrary to the outdated belief, this is slowly changing, and men are speaking out. The goal with the men's anthologies is to create a bridge between their past and the future. It helps clarify the antagonists, objectify drama and heal trauma so we can celebrate the everyday joys and successes in their lives.