Memoirs Trauma Survivors

All books in The Survivor Memoirs series contain adult content and should only be purchased by ages 18+. Every story featured in this book has been written by real life survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Parts of this book can be graphic and may be challenging for some readers; however, the survivors who have dedicated their time to this book are all extraordinary people. For some of us, this is also our first and only opportunity to speak out about our abuse. This book concludes with readily available resources and all profits from sales go towards support networks for fellow survivors.

At the tender ages of five and seven years old, sisters Judy and Cherie were removed from the loving home of their maternal grandparent's farm in Sycamore Illinois and put on a plane to go live in Southern California with their mother and soon to be stepfather; a sadistic perpetrator and child molester. Violence, torture, sexual abuse, and the unconscionable acts of their mother would be the theme of their lives for the next eleven years. Even though they were physically separated from their grandparents, the grandparents never forgot their granddaughters. Their continuous love and devotion...

There I go again, another piece of me chipped away. Another piece unraveled. And unlike one of my knitted pieces, this mistake would remain. Raised in a Jewish household in a coastal Connecticut town, Debbie left her childhood in the groovy ’60s and entered her teenage years during the disco era. Finding any excuse to get away from her neglectful, abusive mother, she turned to attentive boys for fun and affection. This disillusioned path led to Ivan, her first true love, and Debbie became entangled in a passionate relationship. Life was finally looking up. Until the pregnancy test came ...

Pain changes people, but it doesn’t have to break them. In Bruised, But Not Broken: My Mess Is A Message, Hydiea shares her raw and unfiltered journey of survival, heartbreak, and resilience. From a childhood shaped by foster care, family betrayal, and homelessness to the struggles of navigating toxic relationships, motherhood, and self-discovery, this memoir lays everything bare. With gripping honesty, Hydiea confronts the wounds left by those who were supposed to love her, the lessons she learned the hard way, and the moments that nearly broke her. But this is not just a story of pain ...

Wings of Courage is a heartfelt and deeply personal memoir by Julieta that chronicles a journey of survival, resilience, and hope. Trapped in the web of an abusive marriage, Julieta endures years of pain, manipulation, and heartbreak. Yet, through every challenge, she finds the strength to rise, driven by her love for her children and her unyielding determination to reclaim her life. This powerful memoir delves into the raw reality of domestic abuse, the emotional toll of loss, and the struggle to break free from a toxic relationship. But more than that, it’s a story of healing. Julieta ...

André Xavier’s life was forever changed by a single phone call on a sunny September morning. On the other end, his wife Charlie heaved in breathless panic. Come quick. There’s been an accident. André jumped into action and found his way to the hospital Charlie had been airlifted to. There, he would learn his wife was alive, but just barely. To the sterile backdrop of beeping, whirring machines, André learned that Charlie had survived a workplace accident, causing severe burns covering 85% of her body. Her road to recovery would be a long and winding one and she would need André’s ...

On March 21, 2022, The New York Times for the first time published excerpts from the diary of Nadiya Sukhorukova, who noted evidence of Russia's real crimes in Ukraine. "A neighbor said that God left Mariupol. He was afraid of everything he saw," Ms. Sukhorukova wrote in a series of Facebook posts posted after her escape late last week. "I am alive and now I will live long. And my city is dying a painful death," she added. "For twenty days I was dying with it. I was in hell.” (Megan Specia, The New York Times). Excerpts from the diary have been published in UK, USA, Germany, Ukraine, and ...

Set against a backdrop of East End London, Georgia experienced a childhood few of us could imagine. Though brought up in a loving family, she watched her family break apart through deceit and her mother descend into heroin addiction. Escaping into what she felt was a loving sanctuary, Georgia ended up trapped in a violent relationship with a man who would beat and abuse her. After having her three children by him, she knew she had to escape to finally find safety. Now Georgia is sharing her story of survival to help others and prove there is hope even after trauma and heartache.

At six months old, Kenneth is struck by polio, leaving him physically marked and setting the tone for a life shaped by struggle. Abandoned by his mother at the hospital, he is taken in by Pearlie Mae, a blind but fearsome relative who raises him with tough love and relentless discipline. By three, Kenneth experiences haunting visions of celestial beings that feel like a divine or infernal claim on his soul, adding a spiritual weight to his physical trials. Life with Pearlie Mae is harsh; she demands survival skills rather than offering comfort. Kenneth learns early to navigate a world that ...

In this candid memoir, Amanda Brown chronicles the unimaginable sexual abuse she suffered from the age of eight at the hands of her stepfather, Davy Tweed. No Peace Until He’s Dead offers a raw and unflinching account of Amanda’s childhood years marred both by the domestic abuse suffered by her mother at the hands of Tweed, and her own appalling trauma leading to her courageous pursuit of justice and recovery. Davy Tweed, a DUP councillor, Orangeman and lauded rugby player for both Ulster and Ireland, maintained the veneer of upstanding citizen through his political and sporting life, ...

As a deeply authentic and heartfelt collection of harrowing true stories and reflections on sexual trauma, Echoes is a powerful anthology that seeks to shed light on the painful reality faced by male survivors of sexual abuse, along with the lasting mental and emotional scars that so many men carry with them. Compiling dozens of poignant real-life accounts, this groundbreaking book will open the hearts and minds of listeners, offering male survivors a safe place to find solace from their pain and begin building a road map on their journey to wholeness.

Rena Lipiner Katz grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust, believing that the price of her parents’ survival and her own birth was a life of sorrow and guilt. Lipiner Katz explores how her parents’ childhood trauma affected her emotionally and physiologically.

She wrote the truth they told her to forget. Ayanna has been quiet long enough. It started on her eighth birthday. A hallway. A family who looked the other way. Now in her twenties, Ayanna is finally ready to speak the truth they tried to erase. Some Girls Drown is a powerful, emotionally charged novel based on true events. It follows one woman’s fight to reclaim her voice after a childhood spent shaped by silence, and the betrayal of those who should have protected her. This is a story of fury, memory, and the love we fight hardest to find: our own. For readers of Girl A, My Dark Vanessa...

In Born in a Living Hell version 2.0, Darlene J. Clark courageously unveils the haunting realities of her tumultuous childhood, marked by abuse, betrayal, and unimaginable hardship. This raw, unflinching memoir not only recounts the painful moments of her past but serves as a beacon of hope and resilience for those who have suffered in silence. Through her story, Darlene calls for understanding, awareness, and the courage to stand up against abuse, reminding us all that survival is not only possible it’s a triumph. For those seeking a tale of strength amid adversity, Born in a Living Hell...

For 20 years Mandy had coached her clients through the turbulent waters of business and life. What she didn’t know was how important these skills would be in saving herself. On February 7, 2016, she suffered a brutal attack on her life when a college senior broke into her home in a drug-induced rage and nearly beat her to death. In this book she shares details of the attack and her journey through healing - both for herself and the man who attacked her.

Prepare to be moved by an extraordinary tale of faith, resilience, and redemption in *Miracles in the Dark: How a Childhood Cult and Abuse Survivor Reclaimed the Light*. More than a memoir, *Miracles in the Dark* is a testament to the power of choice and the miracles that unfold when one dares to confront their past. It is a beacon of hope for anyone who has faced darkness, offering a reminder that light is always possible—even in the most unthinkable circumstances. Whether you are a survivor seeking solace, an advocate for healing, or simply a reader captivated by stories of the ...

Winner of the 2019 Daybreak Press Book Award for Best Non-fiction Biography/Memoir, Things That Shatter is a "superbly written... honest, gritty... page-turner will have you either nodding sagely as you recall your own experiences or making a map of what to avoid – but either way you’ll be in awe of Kaighla, her son, and their journey." In 2009, Kaighla—a young, single mother from the Midwest—converted to Islam and later met and married the Egyptian imam of a mosque in Brooklyn. Unbeknownst to her, he was still married to his first wife—who was raising their six children back home...

In this powerful and unflinching memoir, Carol Denise Mitchell revisits her award-winning novel What Happened to Suzy, a harrowing yet inspiring account of a young girl’s survival through unimaginable abuse, poverty, and betrayal. Born into a large, troubled family, Suzy endures years of physical and emotional torment at the hands of those meant to protect her. But through resilience, courage, and the rare kindness of a few, she finds her voice and reclaims her life. This 25th anniversary edition includes new reflections and remains a vital testament to the strength of the human spirit ...

With an audacious persistence to reclaim her life, Tia set off on a 15-year path to psychological health. The result is an emotionally regulated, actualized, self-aware woman able to tell her hard story without retraumatizing herself, a woman able to reach a hand back to help others claim what’s theirs. If trauma took your past, it shouldn’t get your present and future too. Through a series of personal stories, therapeutic stages, and resources built around a multi-step model, Tia Levings will guide you through the journey that helped her leave abuse, rediscover selfhood, and heal her mind.

In this intimate and insightful audiobook, Melissa Doyle shares the stories of some of the most resilient people she has ever met, gently drawing out their wisdom, empathy and heartfelt practical advice for anyone who’s going through a difficult time. When the world stopped turning in 2020, award-winning journalist Melissa Doyle had already been thrown off course by life. She’d just turned 50, her eldest child had finally left home to study overseas and her 25-year-long career as a popular presenter at Channel 7 had come to an end.