Brimbank councillor Victoria Borg has released her new book ‘Power over Darkness’ telling her story that she describes as a journey of self-discovery, trauma and healing on the front cover.
Born in a village in Gozo, Malta, Cr Borg migrated to Australia in 1972 where she found a better life after discovering the difficulties she went through as a younger person at age 35.
The book stems from a diary that she wrote in as a young child which led to many realisations for her later on.
“I started writing a diary which eventually became an intensive study of myself,” Cr Borg said.
“I used it constructively from the very beginning and it was very tough, very painful because I always thought at the time that I had a normal childhood but what I discovered through my diary entries was that I had a highly traumatised inner child that I kept hiding from myself.”
The importance of seeking support as well as providing support to others was one of the key messages Cr Borg wanted readers to take from the book.
“First of all I would like to convey the message on how loathing affects us later on in life, including the building of our character and the environment that we are brought up in,” she said.
“That is significantly an important message.
“It is also very important that we understand ourselves and if I may quote Socrates, “the unexamined life is not worth living”, again that is very important especially if we have experienced past traumas in life.
“That (past traumas) keeps interfering with us and the way we interact with relationships that you have with others including our immediate family.
“In this book I also wanted to show how important it is for those who are suffering from mental illness to get the required professional help as well as the support from the people around them.
“If they had the proper support, there is nothing that they can not achieve in life.”
The book is available for purchase online.
Max Hatzoglou
