Kaye explained: "It is a story of hope and encouragement, humour and honesty. Many, like Toni, can achieve so much with the right support and understanding. Without detracting from the depths to which depression can descend, Dawn of Hope shows that it is possible to overcome and live a fulfilled life where there is as much laughter as tears and where loving and being loved doesn't have to be an impossible dream."
Kaye Hollings commented: "Living with the mental illness of my grandmother for 25 years left me confused and angry.
"Accepting my father's illness a few years after her death, saw me resigned to the 'here we go again' cycle of visiting psychiatric hospitals, but becoming a Christian brought compassion and new eyes to see the hidden pain under the hurtful exterior.
"God challenged me to become a Mental Health Chaplain and although not willing at first, became convinced that something good and positive could come out of my difficult, negative childhood.
"The two years of Clinical Pastoral Education were the toughest but most enlightening time of my life as I revisited the wards at Rozelle Hospital where I had been taken as a child and for the first time walked in my grandmother's shoes and saw her world with all its limitations, frustrations and turmoil.
"I found my grandmother and more importantly, found myself behind those ancient stone walls. This training began my journey of forgiveness and regret for the woman who I had never really known and who had never known me."
Learning how to make a difference in the world of the mentally ill was invaluable. Kaye changed and grew as a person. After 12 years as a Hospital Chaplain God led her into becoming a Funeral Director where each day brought contact with grieving families and sometimes the double grief of suicide. She is currently a Funeral Celebrant, continuing to help people through their sorrow and loss.
After a lifetime of being around troubled people and being a writer, Kaye's first book of fiction, Dawn of Hope, draws from her background to tell a warm story of struggle that leads to hope and fulfilment.
"May you be uplifted on your life's journey and discover faith to help find something to smile about each day."