Joan Whilby, née Wright. - Contributed

It took one weekend in August 2008 for Joan Wright to pour decades of pain, perseverance, trials, triumphs, self-doubt, rejection, rape, abuse, self-awareness and, ultimately, forgiveness, from her soul on to paper.

The title, From Brokenness to Victory: The Price of my Breakthrough, speaks not only to her development as a human being, but also of the heavy toll it has taken on her.

Not that the weight of the years is immediately apparent on Joan Wright. She smiles readily, flicks back the edge of her near-auburn hair to allow a full view of clear eyes and answers The STAR's questions (and they are many) about her 11-chapter book, slated for publication in June, without evasion, self-pity or smugness.

Many might not immediately recognise the name 'Joan Wright'. Maybe a few more would latch on to 'Joan Whilby'. But there are few, especially in Christendom, who would not identify her as 'Prodigal's wife'.

Hitting the headlines

Not that that is her identity. Neither is it the main focus of her book, as the relationship takes up relatively little space and the alleged four incidents of domestic abuse are not given in graphic detail. But that is the way in which Joan Wright has hit the headlines repeatedly over the last six months or so in the gospel former poster couple's well-publicised split, the most recent in The STAR last Tuesday in a story about a maintenance order to Calvin 'Prodigal' Whilby.

After the title page of From Brokenness to Victory: The Price of my Breakthrough, which is still in manuscript form, Wright immediately acknowledges a higher power.

She writes: "God is great all the time and so I thank him everyday for putting up with me, for blessing me, for delivering me and for calling me, without him I would still be bound in captivity and this book would not have been written."

Physically, the mother of two has moved from Allman Town to 'uptown' (a very brief stay at the Maxfield Park Children's Home included in the many stops along the way). academically, she has moved from starting primary school barely literate to now doing a law degrees. she has been transformed from being abused to being a mentor of sorts to many who have been abused.

From hiding to smiling

And Joan Wright has moved from hiding her often traumatic experiences behind a smile to pouring them all out for the world to see.

She writes: "I was about five years old when she (her mother) left me with a relative who, in turn, left me asleep in the house, I'm guessing by myself. I awoke and found no one, so I decided to go in search of my mom or aunt. I was living in Allman Town when this happened. I was skirting the streets in search of my mom or aunt when I was picked up by the police and taken to the Maxfield Park Children's Home. Even prior to the police finding me, I could have been kidnapped, raped or killed, as it was very late, predawn when they picked me up. There was another incident I recall when our house caught fire and I was almost burned alive, but God had other plans for my life."

When THE STAR contacted Prodigal Son yesterday about his estranged wife's book, he said that he was not aware of her writing one.

See more about 'From Brokenness to Victory: The Price of my Breakthrough' in The WEEKEND STAR and don't miss the full interview with Joan Wright in the Sunday Gleaner's Entertainment section.

Joan Whilby, estranged wife of gospel artiste, Prodigal Son.