PUBLISHED May 21, 2010

Shame On Me…I Thought You Were My Friend by Gabbriella Conte is the story of one woman’s journey of navigating through the complexities of divorce and the discoveries of self awareness. Claiming to be neither a how -to nor a self help book, it is instead an honest look at a woman’s struggle from the pain of her past to her victorious emergence into her new life. It is a good read for anyone, not just those struggling through divorce.(review by Christine Scalise)

Gabbriella Conte is the pseudo name Kathleen Contenta has chosen for her written works. Born and raised in a small town in Western Pennsylvania where her father was an ex-marine who fought in Iwo Jimo, turned police officer then retired into the sherrif’s department. Her mother was a strong Christian woman who gave Kathleen her strong Christian roots.

Marrying the love of her life at a young age and giving her life to Christ 33 years ago when her son was born, she tried to make her home a happy environment for her husband and son. Everything she tried backfired. So after nearly 28 years of marriage she left an unfaithful and abusive situation and started a journey into life to find herself. The woman she had lost in the last 3 decades of her life. During this time she learned that she could be so much more than a stay at home wife. Not that it was a bad thing to be a stay at home wife, but she learned she had hidden talents which never would have emerged had she stayed  in the marriage. After leaving her husband she dated him for 2-1/2 years in which she was considering moving home…that is until she caught him cheating on her once more. One time too many for her, as this had happened several times before.

During the months after  filing for divorce she still remained his friend and they became very good friends for the next several years. In total they were good friends for over 12 years after her leaving…but he changed that in the blink of an eye…leaving her & their son out of his life with out explanation to her & just a bit of explanation to their son. What once was a healthy divorce now became something that her son & her would never quite understand why it had to be that way when the past with the 3 of them had grown to be healthy in the midst of divorce.

Had this not happened there would be no book….for that she is forever grateful…life does go on, perhaps not the way we thought it would, but perhaps for the best. We might not see it at the time, but after looking back sometimes we can see that all along God may have had something much more in store for us.

Some stories do end….just not always the way we might have hoped. It is her story of love, hope, faith, family & most of all forgiveness. For if there is no forgiveness in your life bitterness can set in and you will never be able to move on a live your life freely…free to be you. She lives by her motto…Live to Love & Love to Live!