Educator Turned Author Spotlights Childhood Trauma
High School Assistant Principal, T.B. Phillips, publishes fantasy novel to draw attention to childhood trauma and mental illness affecting classrooms around the world.
FORT WORTH, Texas, July 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Author and public-school administrator Thomas Phillips released his debut novel, Andalon Awakens, with one goal in mind and it wasn't to sell books. "I want to shine the world's spotlight on the impact that trauma has on students across the nation." His novel did just that, as reported in his hometown newspaper, Wichita Falls Times and Record News, when they proudly announced the book's release with a front page Sunday edition, last week.
"Let's get one thing straight," the author stressed, "this book is for adults and not children. There is language and intense situations that elicit emotional response from the reader, not to trigger past experiences, but to demonstrate to the rest of us what real high school students have gone through before they even cracked open a book with a teacher." With the national focus on improving education, it is no wonder why teachers struggle to build foundations in a growing population with a myriad of mental health concerns. He also hopes the novel will inspire students and young adults to heal along with the characters.
Phillips explained, "All of my main characters make decisions with grave consequences based on how they were shaped by their trauma or personal struggles." Eusari, the captain of the pirate vessel She Wolf was sold into human trafficking and sexually assaulted from the age of thirteen. Braen Braston witnessed the slaughter of families and taking of slaves by his father and brother, confusing his own struggles with violence and control of his outbursts. But most importantly, Prince Robert Esterling aches for his queen mother's approval and affection after she abandoned him by shipping him across the kingdom, embarrassed by his limitations from asthma and severe dyslexia. "These characters will make you cry or scream at the book, but you will eventually love and hate them all.
Andalon Awakens is published by Deckplate Publishing, LLC, and is the first in the series Dreamers of Andalon. The second volume is anticipated by the end of the year. Andalon Awakens is available exclusively on Amazon in both paperback and kindle download. It fits in the fantasy genre right alongside Game of Thrones and the hit television series Vikings.
SOURCE T.B. Phillips
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