‘Everyone Has an Angel … Whether You Believe It Or Not’

Working in the corporate world the first 20 years of her adulthood gave Susan Pettella a guaranteed paycheck and a guaranteed case of stress -- unrelenting stress. So the East Haven woman went for massages. And a divine light bulb went off.

“I thought, wow, wouldn’t this be a great career?” said Pettella. She went to Branford Hall, became a massage therapist, relaxed, and got in touch with her “angels.” Late last year, she self-published a book about those messengers from above, “Angels in Connecticut: The Simple Truth About Angels.” Forty-four personal stories of angelic intervention. Nine by folks from her hometown. She's now embarking on part two.

“I always believed in angels. I always believed in miracles,” said Pettella, 44, a parishioner at Our Lady of Pompeii who considers herself more spiritual than religious.

While she was putting in her two decades doing marketing for AAA, she said she was too frazzled to tap into her spirituality. Five years ago, she got divorced and has been raising her daughter, now 14 and a student at East Haven Middle School, alone.

“I felt like I was always running in circles. I was focused on everyday tasks and not on the big picture, which is life’s road and life’s purpose,” said Pettella, a 1984 East Haven High graduate, now living in the Foxon area.

About a year and a half ago, she kissed the corporate landscape goodbye for all eternity and embarked on her life’s road. She said she now supports her family of two as a massage therapist and a freelance graphic designer. And one day, she hopes, as an author.

The massages, the art, the angels, she said, have given her “an inner peace. That’s when you can really connect with the spiritual world.”

The book idea came to her when she talked about the work of angels to friends and relatives and massage clients, said Pettella. She sent a press release to area newspapers asking readers to send in their  personal stories of angelic encounters.

She said the anecdotes came flooding in. She got 50  from across the state, some attached with photographs of images of angels. Many are tales about loved ones who died.

“I sit and cry because they lose a child and how they got through it keeping their faith strong in the angels and God,” said Pettella.
 
One such story was written by Andrew of East Haven (the last name was left out of this story although it appears in the book). He writes:

“My 28-year-old son Dave died in a motorcycle crash in May 1997. The day after his burial, I sat on the outside steps of my home. My whole family was crumbling. I felt helpless.

I had given up drinking back in 1986 and stopped smoking in 1995. I had a few choices to comfort me during this time, so I just sat there thinking and praying, trying to cope with the loss of my son.

As I sat grieving, I felt two hands come down and touch both of my shoulders, and then a voice saying everything is going to be alright. The words were not spoken aloud, but I heard them loud and clear.

It gave me such strength that I still haven’t drank or smoked and when anything seems to be overwhelming, I remember the touch on my shoulders and I know that everything will be alright.”

“Everyone has an angel, a guardian angel, whether you believe it or not,” said Pettella.

“Angels in Connecticut” is available at Amazon.com and on Pettella’s website.