Romanian-born writer Anișoara Laura Mustețiu, a distinguished voice in Romanian literature and culture, continues her journey with Between Kiss and Pain, a novel that bridges heritage and global recognition from Sydney, Australia.
And so, the story continues… Once again, an exceptional book, “Between Kiss and Pain,” by the renowned Romanian-born writer, Anișoara Laura Mustețiu, who resides in Sydney, Australia. She is a highly esteemed figure of Romanian culture, representing it with pride and bringing it to global recognition.
I have previously written, with great joy, about four of the author’s books: Emotions and Light, Poems and Reflections, published by The Romanian-Australian Book Club, Sydney, Australia, 2023; Fragments from the Life of a Woman, Australian-Romanian Academy Publishing Group, Sydney, Australia, 2023; The Price of Honor, Romanian-Australian Book Club, Sydney, Australia, 2023; and Yarran: Stories from Australia, published by the Romanian-Australian Book Club, 2024.
Once again, I am delighted and honoured to share my impressions of her work!
The author’s invitation, tender and alluring, comes like living water for which we thirst and have been waiting.
We eagerly accept, with the same openness, a desire to join her in this story, and a willingness to read and share in the unique and fascinating experiences that will nourish our souls and spirits. If the book `The Price of Honor” was dedicated to the author’s mother, this time, the book is dedicated to Ana, whose destiny, emotions, lessons, and understanding we follow throughout the story.
I will present to you remarkable aspects of this book, both in its literary and axiological dimensions, leaving you, dear Readers, the joy of following the captivating and engaging narrative and discovering the countless facets and shades of the human soul’s beauty. The author’s confession is profound, allowing us to relive, alongside her, the philosophy of womanhood, with a soul full of love that she offers so generously. She seeks, at last, to understand herself and all that has come to her through the grace of God. We share with her the inner turmoil, the searches and desires, the dreams, projects, memories, and her own becoming.
Although I am familiar with the writer’s style—clear as a mountain spring that rejuvenates the spirit—I must admit that every sentence captivates me and invites me to deep reflection, often allowing me to find myself or empathize with her.
The writer presents the book as a testimony to triumph over life’s harsh trials,’ through which the protagonist fights to finalize her sense of identity.
In the chapter The Mirror of the Past, we encounter Ana again, this time on an Australian beach, searching for balance, harmony, and inner peace. Everything around her encourages an inner journey—a quest for self in the silence of the heart, where her inner voice calls her to write her story.
Sometimes, I wonder how someone can perceive so many details of life around them, resonating quietly in a lived story that brings tranquillity and peace: famished seagulls, an endless convoy of ants, the golden acacia, tiny grains of sand… Only a delicate soul can grasp the beauty of creation in all its forms, embracing joy and recalling the Town on the Bega.
In the chapter The Games of Fate compels Ana to explore the past, to understand it, to accept it, and to heal what needed healing. Her inner voice reflects both the writer’s true self and her Inner Child—a child who first experienced the pain of separation from her mother and later grew happily for the next ten years, during which she longed for protection.
Let me pause here briefly on a subject close to my heart—and equally revealing in this book—to emphasize the importance of the Inner Child within each of us. It represents an aspect of our primordial being, always yearning for the true sense of HOME. Within all of us lies the archetype of the Inner Child, playing a decisive role in the evolution of our Inner Adult, our Self.
The Inner Child accumulates experiences in the subconscious, emotional imprints from childhood, influencing our present.
It can take on two identities: sorrowful and hidden, or joyful, as a divine child. Each of us carries within us an infant self that guides our steps into maturity. It can be a true guardian angel if one had a happy childhood and felt safe, or if one was overwhelmed by fear and trauma, it may become an obstacle to the happiness one seeks—but it, too, deserves to be understood.
The Inner Child is the secret to a happy adult. Sometimes, it appears as a being subordinate to the conscious mind that awakens. The Inner Child seeks only to receive love. The deepest sense of well-being comes from love—the kind shared between a child and their mother. This unique and special form of intimacy, in which we experience acceptance, safety, protection, and tender care, becomes an inner model of ‘goodness’ that we pursue throughout our lives, because it resembles the image of God imprinted within us.
Love is always what we search for… and I can assure you that a writer creates as long as their Inner Child remains by their side, tying beginnings and endings in a timeless circle, in a continuous present. You can only write if you keep some of that childlike purity, always maintaining an open channel of communication with the Divine.
And how beautifully she recalls how her father wrote poetry: ‘Through writing, he found healing from the hardships he had endured in his youth.” What a beautiful lesson it is to cherish the beauty of words at a young age and to carefully place poems in the ‘nest of your heart.’ Here, I find myself completely… in my own childhood… when I discovered the magic of poetry in the verses written and recited by my father. From that young age, the desire for storytelling was planted within her: ‘One day, you will soar with your heart toward the sun and write, my dear little girl.’ This invaluable gift, nurtured back then, would become the most effective means of solace, joy, purpose, and happiness in her life.
The pivotal moments she lived through, like her father’s final tear, were profoundly impactful…
and the response came like a sentence: ‘But God was silent. And fate was silent.’ Not everyone could utter such words in those moments that pierced her tender being… she searched for signs—in dreams or perhaps in a dove, ‘maybe it was his soul’… ‘From that morning on, she could no longer be a child.’ From that point, she missed that unique, unconditional love that can never be forgotten, but she continued her journey relying on intuition, instinct, and the strength God gave her to keep moving forward.
We share extraordinary moments with her at her grandparents’ house, in the Heaven of Home, a place we Romanians cherish and carry forever in our hearts. With an uplifting yet profound love, she speaks to us about the village, the enchanted garden in the Valley of Sanzaiene a true ‘dreamland.’
I can hardly resist giving you all the details, but it feels like my own childhood… from gathering hay to listening to my grandfather’s war stories… With such love and emotion, she presents the grandparents’ house ‘that seemed to be sleeping under the freshly painted whitewash’… ‘the small room, blessed with peace’… and lit by ‘a kerosene lamp.’
With such love, she reminisces about her childhood and her grandparents: ‘those people with gentle gazes and warm hearts.’ But her life unfolded in the City on the Bega, where she relived memories of her high school years—Plato, Aristotle, questions, reading, solitude, DREAMS—but only she truly knew her inner experiences. With a natural Romanian wisdom and perhaps not coincidentally, with her highly developed sense of observation and love for nature, she realized that ‘birds heal themselves against the hardships of the weather,’ and she took them as a model.
Each story weaves relevant references for the narrative from the words of Confucius, Nietzsche, Dr. Seuss, Albert Camus, Jung, or her own thoughts, equally full of essence and wisdom.
In a profound confession, she tells us that ‘her lifelong desire was just one thing: to love and to be loved.’ Yes, she shares her first love, Dorian, THE PLANET OF LOVERS, their planet called ‘Love,’ a love they shared with empathy: ‘the stars, tender and serene,’ other times the sunset, the river, the grass, the trees, the old linden tree, the lilac bush. What a beautiful comparison: She was ‘a rebellious bird,’ while Dorian was ‘the gentle wind that eased her restlessness.’
Ana learns to look inward, where she meets her heart, with which she speaks, gradually discovering the mirage of life, ‘that divine energy gifted by God to humans to ease their earthly pain.’ She knew that ‘from the depths of the heart, pure truth springs forth.’ And how special it was… when Ana ran to catch ‘the tram that carried her back into solitude…’ A world, as she beautifully puts it, ‘that only she held the key to unlock, to let someone step into her world’… and the dreams she prayed for: ‘Lord, help me!’ A beautiful love that is never forgotten, but the DICE OF FATE will have their final say by the book’s conclusion.
A unique moment, carrying the value of a historical document, is that of the 1989 Revolution, which caught the two lovers in the whirlwind of events, with the Cathedral Gates closed… What followed were STRUGGLES and CHANGED DESTINIES, emigration after the Revolution, and other episodes in Munich, Mannheim, Heidelberg, and ultimately, Australia. The rivers Bega, Rhine, and Neckar became places where she unravelled her memories, teleporting her to the Valley of Sanzaiene.
The wisdom she inherited from her father, grandparents, and nanny Ani helped her, but now life was teaching her ‘to endure and to fight.’ Mama Ani, the nanny, used to say: ‘Oh, my dear, you will learn… You will discover how strong you are! In time…’
The shared confessions with her mother were profound, emotional, and full of life lessons—they taught her to be strong.
Happy to have found each other again, Mother and Daughter, Ana discovered a magical strength within herself. She understood that in life, one should not avoid suffering but rather seek to comprehend it, for it would transform into love. She realized that the most beautiful falls, even those of the soul, were the ones from which she managed to rise with new wisdom. They were grateful for having each other, for being reunited.
‘Never stop dreaming!… Never forget!’ her mother told her the last time they saw each other. How profound! It’s what the disenchanted world we live in today is still missing: dreams and stories. I must also mention that, in The Price of Honor, her mother’s confidant, Măriuca, was the walnut tree—a silent witness to her loves and sufferings, with whom she shared her solitude. It knew how to listen and became a model of existence for her. She wanted to be strong and proud like it, standing steadfast against life’s challenges with its ancestral energy and enveloping silence, while still allowing her to be herself in the face of reality.
Here, in this book, for Ana, the oak tree becomes a kindred spirit in her sanctuary of peace and reflection… She wished to be strong like it, to stand tall and unyielding in the face of hardships.
And Poetry embraces all their love, just like Painting does… but I won’t reveal more! Discover for yourself this true and magical love story, one that will captivate you. A love that never fades!
The loss of her loved ones forces Ana to face life head-on: ‘The darkness taught her to discover her own light.’ What followed was a fight for survival, where respect and support from strangers had to be earned by each person individually. She worked hard, and ‘the first time she cried out of joy was the day she received her residency papers.’ She had to rise and fight, to confront destiny and life’s traps. And fight she did—becoming an independent woman who built her success through her own efforts and strength.
A NEW PATH that Ana embarks on, lovingly embracing the Past, taking her memories in her arms as she moves forward, among strangers.
There are so many important moments worth mentioning, such as: The Calm Man versus The Complex Woman, or the joy-bringing Christmas, uniting worlds!
BEAUTY… MAGIC AND RESPECT, Love and faith in her own values and inner strength, with which the Creator has endowed her. With her heart still hanging somewhere far away, on a star called Love, which she wishes she could hang on the Christmas Tree while seeking the holy spirit of the holidays, she reveals: ‘There is no lack of love, for love exists everywhere, in countless forms. If love arises from within, it becomes infinite… In life, there is an endless array of things to love… above all, God.’
And there is something more, in my opinion: there is an infinite source of Love in this Universe and in all verses. The more you give, the Creator replenishes your heart with even more love! We come into this world to experience and learn the Lesson of Love! That is why I believe the most important life lesson from this book is: ‘It is never too late… to forgive and to love.’
I join the closing words of the book: ‘A woman has the power to transform a love into an immortal legend!‘ And this book itself is proof of that!
I thank the author for this soulful gift that makes life beautiful and encourages you to be yourself and believe in yourself!
Here we encounter a prose written in a personal, poetic style, where poetry, metaphors, and the talent the author has been blessed with brings vitality into the writing. It is a work infused with God, who grants her the power to retell the story so beautifully. A book crafted in such a special way that the narrative thread intertwines with the poetic, drawing you into its enchantment as well.
The volume is sprinkled with aesthetically constructed phrases that pleasantly surprise you: ‘a flock of thoughts’ (The Dice of Fate), ‘fringes of vivid, new dreams’ and ‘a living fresco on the walls of thought’ (The Planet of Lovers), ‘the songs of hearts’ (Dreams), ‘cotton clouds’ (Struggles and Changed Destinies), ‘the gray church’ (The Valley of Sanzaiene), ‘a net of dreams’ (The Painting).
A book written with the wisdom of a mature woman.
A book about profound human emotions, which the author superbly reveals in this wonderful story. This compels me once again to bow with admiration and respect before Woman, as a being filled with divinity.
The Woman’s aspiration toward perfection, as an apotheosis of her being, leads her to the realization of true harmony, much like the Sun and the Moon, two celestial bodies bound by divine longing. This journey guides her toward the attainment of her spiritual dimension, one that she discovers and nurtures through HIM. Love, as a divine power, elevates her, aspiring to merge two beings into one—perfect and whole. Through this ascension, her weakness, expressed through suffering and the aching void, awakens new strength within her.
Defying every obstacle, she rises like a celestial body, yearning for freedom above all else, needing it as if it were the water of immortality. Though, she discovers only later that true inner maturity is what allows her to fully embrace this dimension. Within her is sown an intrinsic yearning upon which the realization of her dream depends—a dream she cultivates in her inner abyss. Deep self-love propels her forward, with trust in the gifts God has bestowed upon her. This is the essence of Ana, the protagonist of the book!
Convinced that true freedom lies in inner liberty, she intuitively seeks fulfillment in a being as strong and independent as she is, fostering the gift of steadfastness, an optimistic outlook on life, unconditional love, and faith in the universal spirit dwelling within her.
Her goal is unique and unwavering. Independence, in all its forms, preserves her inner balance, grants her uprightness, dignity, and confidence. Knowing herself, granting her being the place it deserves, taking responsibility for herself, her independence, and even her solitude, leads her to discover, in an almost miraculous way, the power of the divine that was destined for her. A profound, divine inner assurance, a feeling of spiritual elevation—a stage that transcends the ‘eternal child’ to become the ‘eternal feminine.’ This transformation occurs during her own becoming, where her spirit, like a white bird, soars above the inner sea.
For such a Woman, whose Intuition remains her inner radar, love offers her the spiritual elevation she aspires to. Through love, she comes to know herself and the other, and this knowledge brings confidence. It teaches her to listen to her inner signals and set boundaries. A unique synchronicity emerges—a rhythm of consciously controlled openness to the world, guided by her inner Voice, which brings quality, depth, and height to her life.
Illuminated by her inner light, her Universe becomes magical, like a state of grace, enabling her to see within herself her true Strength.
The book invites us to cherish the divinity within ourselves and to weave from humanity’s values an ark in which we can discover the perfection of the Universal Truth and the reason for Being.
Once again, we are invited on a journey where, through successive reflections and introspections within a continuous discourse, the search returns to ourselves, bringing freedom and harmony. This unfolds with surprising coherence in the vast ocean of entropy, where the Word is alive and liberating.
A book written with the Light of the Soul, an exceptional gift for which I invite you to an extraordinary reading experience!
We extend our congratulations to the distinguished writer, Anișoara Laura Mustețiu, for this wonderful literary creation. We wish the book a long life through its readers and eagerly look forward to the next editorial releases.
With appreciation,
Prof. AURELIA RÎNJEA
Member of the Union of Romanian Language Writers and World Poets Association, România
