Praise for Heart of an Abandoned Daughter
“This book provides an honest and heartfelt personal account regarding the recovery journey away from childhood powerlessness, due to witnessing domestic violence and maternal emotional neglect, toward a state of power and personal choice in adulthood. Lessons learned include how each of us possesses the ability to make our own choices, and affect our destinies, no matter what has come before.”
–Kim Anderson, Ph.D., LCSW, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Missouri
Author of Enhancing Resilience in Survivors Of Family Violence
“The journey of healing is a personal one, but it need not be traveled alone. In Helen Gennari’s From The Heart of An Abandoned Daughter, her vivid and moving stories of a childhood silenced by her father’s violence against her mother, lead to an adult’s path of healing that others may follow. Like the “mothering tree” that gave her comfort in a comfortless childhood, Helen provides a safe, sturdy and living process for others to use to recover their true selves, their inherent resilience, and their own individual healing.”
–Colleen Coble, CEO, Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
“This book is a wonderful gift of hope, healing, wisdom and peace for anyone who has grown up with or is experiencing family violence. The impact of this trauma on innocent children can result in a lifetime lived in fear, isolation, shame and insecurity. Helen invites us, her readers, to accompany her as she shares not only her story but the transformational journey beyond a painful past. Comforted, informed and uplifted, we are empowered to release the bonds of the past in order to embrace a fulfilling, safe, joyful present and future. We deserve nothing less.”
–Mary E Burns, family violence survivor, former director of Woman’s Place Drop-in Center for Abused Women, St. Louis, MO
“This is a wonderful guide for empathy and insight toward healing abandonment.”
–Susan Anderson Author of The Black Swan: The Twelve Lessons of Abandonment Recovery
“This painfully candid book about the torment and long-term emotional scars of growing up the eldest child in an abusive family will hit home for so many adults. If you grew up with an alcoholic, addicted, or psychologically troubled parent(s), you know the deep emptiness and hurt that linger for a lifetime, as it did with Helen Gennari. Her book tells of both the early journey of loneliness and her passage through that dark time to ultimately find peace. I highly recommend this book to all who have either grown up in such a home or are close to someone who did!”
–By Lin
Although I have known Helen Coleman Gennari for a long time as a spiritual friend, I had no idea that her earlier life had been so difficult and painful due to family violence and emotional abandonment. Reading about her process of healing and becoming the person I now know, one can only view her transformation as a spiritual evolution in consciousness: A touching example for all who face similar trauma and want to transcend it.
–Ann V. Graber, PhD
I’m only halfway through, but my compassion is raised for all the family members caught in this trap of recurring abuse, especially the young and most innocent. Gennari’s courageous story of her victory over her traumatic childhood convinces us that we can overcome our own perhaps less horrendous childhood challenges. Beautifully written. Hope we get more.
–Susan C. Stolze