WASHINGTON - TelAve -- Montrella Cowan, a licensed therapist and relationship expert, author, and speaker, has penned a gripping new book, "The Purse – An Essential Guide to Healthy Relationships," that offers timely advice and strategies on how to avoid unhealthy relationships.

Based on her own heart-wrenching personal experiences of becoming a teen mother after getting raped by a friend, she has devoted nearly 20 years advising individuals, couples and families, Cowan's book pulls no punches in helping women overcome trauma and identify the signs of an unhealthy relationship – and how to move beyond it to live a healthy, enriching life.

"The Purse" (The Vision of Fruition Group, 2020) is available at Amazon and all online bookstores.

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"I learned for sure that I don't break, that I wasn't spoiled and I damn sure wasn't weak," writes Cowan, who takes a holistic approach to her psychotherapy, tapping into the mind, body and spirit to help people have healthy relationships and families.

Cowan, who has her Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) and owner of Affinity Health Affairs, uses the analogy of a women's purse to unpack those items typically in a woman's purse, such as "The Mirror," "The Sewing Kit," "The Keys," "The Panty Liners," "Pepper Spray and Tissue," "Lip Gloss," and "Perfume".

She guides readers through a series of "recipes" to take steps to assess their own lives and provides tools to improve one's self-worth. "Years spent in one bad relationship after another have gifted me with pearls of wisdom, and now, I gift them to you as you create and maintain a healthy, harmonious, and loving romantic relationship!" Cowan writes.

Readers' reviews illustrate how the book is touching a nerve with women – and men. Wrote one woman, "I'm up reading your book and your story speaks to me when it comes to relationships. My past relations [are] soooo much like yours and your healing is soooo much like what I am now going through… thank you for sharing your story!" One man wrote, "Your book touched my soul because I went through trauma too. Everyone should read your book because it is so inspiring."

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The Washington, D.C.-area based licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) sticks to a fundamental theme throughout her book where she urges women to, "Never be afraid to demand better from the people around you, especially when it comes to romance."

She adds, "Forgiving yourself is one of the most important things that you can do because it requires first being honest with yourself," Cowan advises.