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...

Survivor at Law is a gripping memoir of narcissistic abuse, coercive control, and a weaponized legal system, told by attorney Dovie King. She shares her unflinching story of trauma, betrayal, and the fight to reclaim her voice—offering insight and empowerment for anyone who has felt trapped, silenced, or overlooked.

A "powerful and scary and important and true" memoir of a young woman's struggle to regain her sense of self after trauma, and the efforts by a powerful New England boarding school to silence her—at any cost (Sally Mann, author of Hold Still). Shortlisted for the 2022 William Saroyan...

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 ...

“A personal and revealing...memoir from a trailblazing therapist.”—Kirkus Reviews Shares the author’s personal journey to heal his severe childhood trauma as well as his breakthroughs on the path to create Somatic Experiencing Explores how he came to view Einstein as his personal...

The Girl That No One Claimed: When Hell Comes Back is a raw, unflinching memoir about what happens after survival—when the past doesn’t stay buried, and the systems meant to protect instead teach predators how to operate. Raised in foster care, shaped by abuse, courtrooms, and silence, Paige Johnson grows up learning how to survive without ever being claimed. As an adult, she builds a life—marriage, children, a home—only to discover that survival training doesn’t expire. It follows you into love, into motherhood, into every place where power, control, and credibility collide. This...

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 ...

If you’ve spent your life carrying emotional weight that was never yours to hold, this book will help you finally put it down. In The Stones We Carry, author and trauma-healing practitioner Nati Carrillo guides you through an intimate, transformative journey of self-discovery, emotional release, and nervous-system healing. Part memoir, part guidebook, this deeply compassionate work helps you understand the roots of your pain—and teaches you how to finally live without carrying the generational weight passed down to you. With gentle storytelling and grounded wisdom, Nati shows you how ...

‘A powerful, harrowing and courageous book.’ - Piers Morgan 'An extraordinarily vivid, raw must-read. Toula writes with a powerful resilience and a big-hearted capacity to love - a vital glimpse into the inner world of a survivor.' - Nel Walker, Trauma Therapist (Retired) The complete memoir from Toula Mavridou-Messer. From the age of five, Toula was sexually abused by her mother’s partner for fifteen long years. The terror shaped every moment of her childhood and left her with severe complex PTSD that she carries to this day. In this raw, unflinching account - originally shared as ...

“In the fairy tales about father–daughter incest—‘The Girl Without Hands,’ ‘Thousand Furs,’ the original ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Donkey Skin,’ and the stories of Saint Dymphna, patron saint of incest survivors—the daughters are all as you would expect them to be: horrified by...

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.

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 ...

As seen on Yahoo News At five years old, Robert’s world was already on fire. Growing up in New Mexico with an abusive, unpredictable mother and a revolving door of strangers, he faced the kind of chaos no child should ever know. Violence, neglect, betrayal—these were the foundations of his earliest memories. Only in the arms of his grandmother and aunt did he feel brief moments of safety. Asleep (Drifting) Book One pulls back the curtain on a childhood shaped by trauma and survival. With unfiltered honesty, Robert invites you into the heartbreaking, confusing, sometimes shockingly ...

An immersive account of a commercial fishing disaster at sea whose repercussions haunt its survivors to this day, lauded by New York Times bestselling author Ron Suskind as “an honest and touching book, and a hell of a story.” In March of 1984, the commercial fishing boat Wind Blown left...

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 ...

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...

Most people can remember what happened to them. Few can explain what those events formed inside them. The Shape of a Life is a bridge and field guide for anyone who wants to write their life story with truth, care, and meaning. It is for the reader who is tired of performance. It is for the person who has lived through hard seasons, carries scattered memories, and wants to turn those pieces into a readable pattern. This book does not ask you to expose everything. It teaches you the difference between private truth, family truth, and public truth, so you can tell the truth without harming ...

A survivor of the Troubled Teen Industry exposes the truth about the dark side of a billion-dollar industry's institutionalized abuse—and shares the story of her own fight for justice. Liz Ianelli, known around the world as Survivor993, spent years at the Family Foundation—labeled an...

★★★★★ "Great story of redemption and the human spirit!" - Reader review ___ In this gripping memoir, Jimmy “Slim” Rumsey tells the extraordinary story of his life. His inspiring perspective arose out of his struggles as a teenager and young adult after confronting his most difficult challenges of seeking redemption for his past, embarking on a process of self-healing, and extending forgiveness. Jimmy was born on the run to a fugitive father, coming of age in California as a formidable gang member, serving time behind bars, and nearly losing his life after being shot in the ...