If you look into my house, you will see one of two things: perception or reality. If I look into your house, I, too, will see one of two things: perception or reality.

Every so often, someone is warm enough to invite you into their home and show you both things –- perception and reality.

That warm person is Marala Scott who, with Tre Parker, invites us into her home in the form of a memoir entitled In Our House: Perception vs. Reality.

“I believe that the pain we suffer as children will carry into the adult lives of our children if we choose to let it,” Scott said about her youth which served as a basis for the memoir. “It was challenging to write this. It’s riveting, gripping, and horrific.”

Released on November 1, 2008, Scott’s memoir was 13 years in the making.

In Our House tells a story of Collin, a brilliant, handsome, and charming man to the outside world, recruited by both the CIA and IBM. The perception was that he had it all.

However, behind closed doors, Collin’s reality was a hellish nightmare of verbal and atrocious physical abuse toward Alley and their six children.

Published by Seraph Books and co-written by Tre Parker, In Our House: Perception vs. Reality is a vivid recollection of Scott’s “horrific” childhood. With the help of Parker, Scott tells her story from the perspective of her childhood while also providing analytical perspectives as an adult.

“We didn’t want to just tell a story,” Scott told Buzzine. “We wanted the reader to feel the story. We took the account of the actual abuse and told it in this memoir.”

Since the book’s release more than ten weeks ago, one of Hollywood’s favorite stars helped promote the book -– Tyrese Gibson.

“This book changed my perspectives on everything,” Gibson said after he read the memoir. “It changed my life forever.”

Gibson has been promoting the book everywhere, even at the red carpet of his 30th birthday party in December.

“(Scott) is an amazing person, and her book is a very powerful tale everyone should read,” Gibson added.

Gibson agreed with Scott and Parker that the purpose of the memoir is to educate people about abusive households. According to Parker, abuse is a lot more prevalent than people realize.

“It’s a situation everyone can relate to,” he told Buzzine. “Abuse doesn’t discriminate. Abuse is more than just a word. We wanted the reader to feel it.”

In addition to relaying the negative power of abuse and the impact it has on everyone involved, Scott and Parker have been speaking at numerous engagements while also relying upon Hollywood A-listers such as Tyrese to raise awareness about domestic violence to the masses.

“We have powers to stabilize the community,” Parker said about using every possible means, including the entertainment business, to spread the word about important social issues such as domestic violence. “If you speak up and use your voice, it’s a powerful tool. Outlets to get help do exist.”

Yet, for Scott, she hopes to do more than just getting the word about domestic violence and abuse. She wants to do more than challenge perceptions. Instead, Scott wants people to learn how to accept the reality of abuse, and how to move on in a positive manner.

“I could have chosen to put myself in that situation,” Scott said about growing up with an abusive parent, and how she vowed to never be the same to her children. “I told myself I would never hurt my kids.”

As a result, while In Our House focuses on life during an abusive relationship, she plans to write a second book dealing with life after abuse.

“It’s kind of the story of what happens to children of abuse,” Scott said. “I’m living proof that you only hold on to pain if you choose to. It doesn’t have to follow you.”

Throughout the story, both current and planned, Parker added that forgiveness is a major factor.

“The idea of how you forgive keeps coming up,” he said. “Oftentimes, we don’t want to (forgive), but until you do, it’s very hard to move on.”

Yet, with the help of Parker, Scott has managed to forgive and move on, and is now living a peaceful life in Columbus, Ohio. Scott added she has an amazing relationship with her two children, both young adults now.

Through her experience, Scott hopes to inspire and empower. By exposing the realities of her childhood, Scott hopes others will avoid living a similar life. As we all live in our respective houses, she hopes we all actually do live a life of peace instead of giving the perception that we do.

In Our House: Perception vs. Reality is currently on sale. For more information, visit www.inourhousebook.com.