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    Scared Selfless: My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving
    Unavailable
    Scared Selfless: My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving
    Unavailable
    Scared Selfless: My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving
    Audiobook8 hours

    Scared Selfless: My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving

    Written by Michelle Stevens, PhD

    Narrated by Michelle Stevens, PhD

    5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    "A riveting memoir that takes readers on a roller coaster ride from the depths of hell to triumphant success."-Dave Pelzer, author of A Child Called "It"

    Michelle Stevens has a photo of the exact moment her childhood was stolen from her: She's only eight years old, posing for her mother's boyfriend, Gary Lundquist-an elementary school teacher, neighborhood stalwart, and brutal pedophile. Later that night, Gary locks Michelle in a cage, tortures her repeatedly, and uses her to quench his voracious and deviant sexual whims. Little does she know that this will become her new reality for the next six years.

    Michelle can also pinpoint the moment she reconstituted the splintered pieces of her life: She's in cap and gown, receiving her PhD in psychology-and the university's award for best dissertation.

    The distance between these two points is the improbable journey from torture, loss, and mental illness to healing, recovery, and triumph that is Michelle's powerful memoir, Scared Selfless.

    Michelle suffered from post‐traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression, and made multiple suicide attempts. She also developed multiple personalities. There was "Chelsey," the rebellious teenager; "Viscous," a tween with homicidal rage; and "Sarah," a sweet little girl who brought her teddy bear on a first date.

    In this harrowing tale, Michelle, who was inspired to help others heal by becoming a psychotherapist, sheds light on the all-too-real threat of child sexual abuse, its subsequent psychological effects, and the best methods for victims to overcome their ordeals and, ultimately, thrive. Scared Selfless is both an examination of the extraordinary feats of the mind that are possible in the face of horrific trauma as well as Michelle's courageous testament to their power.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 21, 2017
    ISBN9781524773786
    Unavailable
    Scared Selfless: My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving

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    Reviews for Scared Selfless

    5/5

    17 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book was difficult for me to get through at times and I would have to set it aside. Not because it was not an interesting story, quite the opposite but the abuse this poor person suffered was so horrendous it actually left me feeling sick. When the author was a young girl her mother decided to marry Garry Lindquist against her daughter's advice. Michelle knew there was something not right with Gary and how evil he was would soon be revealed to her. For six years he raped her, passed her around a pedophile ring, and forced her to be bound and filmed in children pornography. Aside from out right killing her I don't know how much worse he could have treated her. The whole time her mother turned a blind eye to her daughter's suffering. To cope with the abuse she endured Michelle developed multiple personalities and buried her memories into her subconscious. The last part of the book is about how she dealt with the past and finally healed emotionally from her child hood trauma.I had so many thoughts about this book. First I am disgusted by the sheer number of men that want to have sex with children. It is one of the most disturbing things I can think of. What is wrong with these people? Thankfully attitudes have changed from the 70's when this kind of thing was not openly targeted by police. I don't think the perverts have stopped their sick pursuits of kids though. I live in the same state as Disney World and when central Florida does a sting you would be surprised by how many men into pedophilia work at Disney World. My other thoughts about this book had to deal with the poor state of getting mental health in this country. Too many untrained and uncaring therapists are hanging up a shingle. It should not take seeing eight therapist to get real help for a victim of sexual trauma. First Michelle was made a victim by the men who raped her but the teachers in her school and eventually many of her therapists made the situation worse not better. People need to be able to get good mental health in this country and they should not be stigmatized for doing so. Michelle, through years of hard work and several stints in a mental hospital, finally recovered enough to have a healthy loving relationship with her partner and child. I would have liked to hear more about what happened with her relationship with her mother and the fate of another of Gary's abuse victims who actually developed AIDS from what was done to her. I would like to report that Gary got what was coming to him in a court of law but life is not always neat and tidy like that. He did however get a sort of cosmic justice in the end. I hope there is peace for Michelle and all of his other victims.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Excellent, very insightful and inspiring, a must read for anyone who wants to understand someone who has been through child abuse