AGKIf one of your goals is reading more books and wearing a tiara to celebrate your reclamation of self, I have the giveaway for you! (United States Only, Please.)
I’m giving away a signed print copy of The First 22 Years Are the Hardest along with a healing-centered gift package.
By the time she is thirteen, Angela Giles Klocke has already learned what it means to survive sexual assault, child abuse, and poverty. What follows is a deeply honest survivor memoir about searching for love as a way out—and discovering the high cost of that hope.
When Angela meets Dewayne, she believes she has found her escape. Instead, the relationship slowly becomes a cycle of emotional and domestic abuse, stretching from her teenage years into adulthood and leaving her questioning her worth, her voice, and her future.
This true story of survival is not only about what was endured, but about what refused to disappear: hope. With courage, self-reflection, and resilience, Angela begins the difficult work of imagining life beyond abuse.
The First 22 Years Are the Hardest is a powerful memoir about overcoming abuse, written for survivors, advocates, and anyone seeking proof that healing after trauma is possible—even when the road forward feels impossible to see.
Content Warning: This book includes discussions of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.
I wrote my story for me first, to process, to heal. I kept working on it for you, to help you feel less alone, to show the sides of abuse that aren’t necessarily illegal, that don’t look like the Hollywood version of domestic violence and survival, but rather what is less talked about that often carries more doubt — for yourself and from others. There is so much I chose not to include (some will likely be in the follow-up memoir) due to space, privacy, and the very truth of still healing from those parts. Stay tuned…
✨ Enter the giveaway
✨ Share with someone who needs it
✨ Wear the tiara — metaphorical or not
“Angela shares her story with raw transparency. I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially to those who are currently living with verbal, physical, or sexual abuse. Or to anyone else who is second guessing themselves, believing that this kind of life is normal or what they deserve.” -Amazon Review
DEADLINE TO ENTER: April 7, 2026
Winner will be notified and announced April 8, 2026.
Want to earn bonus entries? Share the social media post and tag me in the post: Angela Giles Klocke
IF YOU WIN
We will only ask for your mailing address if you are the winner. You must respond by April 12, 2026 to accept your prize by responding to the email we send with your mailing address. US Only.
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