A girl’s journey finding peace after suffering childhood abuse is the subject of a new book by a Bermudian author. Her Seventh Summer by Chanika Jones is based on true events and is due for release on July 31. Ms Jones told The Royal Gazette: “This story is an account through the eyes of a young girl, Chari, who is forced to navigate through life after enduring childhood abuse. “She quickly realises that she and her sister, Silana, while only a year apart, were afforded two different lifestyles and this drives a huge wedge between them in their later years. “It is up to Chari to make good of the bad cards she was dealt.”The reader is invited to experience Chari’s struggle with love and trust while still trying to be a child.Ms Jones, 40, from Sandys, describes the book as “realistic fiction” and wrote it under the pseudonym Areille Abiona.She is an interior designer by day and was inspired to write the book following a challenge by her friend Sloane Johnson. Ms Johnson, who was a member of the same writing group as Ms Jones — 16 Weeks to Published with Brooklyn Knight — has a book being released on the same date titled Unevenly Yoked.Ms Jones said: “I have always enjoyed writing and have always wanted to share my story but hadn’t quite built up the nerve to do so. “I was challenged by my friend and then the fire was reignited.“It’s a story that demonstrates how, although trauma shapes who someone is and how they navigate through life, it doesn’t have to result in a horrible future. “I am hoping that people get out of this story that it really doesn’t matter what cards you are dealt. All that matters is how you play them.”This is Ms Jones’s second book. In 2014 she published a book of poetry titled Beauty Beyond the Storm. Her Seventh Summer is available for e-book pre-order for $4.99. Hard copies will be available on July 31 on Amazon and at local bookstores.