We all make mistakes, wrong or difficult choices and errors of judgment, especially when we are young and don't realize the consequences that these risky decisions can have on the rest of our lives. But life often gives us another chance if we are fortunate. If not, we take courage in our own hands to alter our situations according to our secretly-held dreams-for better or worse. Some of us have endured lives so absolutely messed up that we cannot see a way forwards. If we can manage to turn our despair into something we can live with, if we can look ahead and see that there is a brighter day coming, we can rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Maybe not a strong and visibly healthy phoenix, but risen just the same. "Eloquent Silence" is a collection of stories of women, for women, written by one who has traveled that bumpy road before. Margaret Weise shows us how, when faced with life's dilemmas, the rest of a life can roar in a woman's ears as she seeks to bring balance back into her psyche and her world; how, when beating down life-threatening or soul-destroying circumstances, she is often a force to be reckoned with. These stories-some sad, some funny-will touch every woman-young, old or in-between-at her very core.