An Ordinary Girl: Trading Up! Beauty for Ashes in the Aftermath of Abuse

Author LisaMarie M. Atwood was born an ordinary girl in an ordinary place and time. But her early home life was anything but ordinary as she lived out her days in the secret reality of childhood sexual abuse. The abuse she endured, the years of difficulty that followed, and God's ultimate redemption of her experience render her uniquely qualified to share her extraordinary journey of survival and resilience.

Hers is the story of Little Miss Much-Afraid, a defenseless child who suffered the despicable cruelty of incest for the first fourteen years of her life. The story winds its way through a confusing childhood fraught with dysfunction and shame, and follows that broken child into adulthood where her invisible wounds and interfering cast-offs take center stage in marriage, parenthood, and life. Within Atwood's narrative is found a candid and moving account of suffering and salvation, rage and forgiveness, heartache and healing. It is a must-read for all those betrayed and defiled as children, those who feel forgotten and abandoned-left behind to piece through the rubble and the ash of their abuse. Throughout these pages, survivors will see that they are not alone, that the things they suffered are not their fault, and their responses to their suffering are neither uncommon nor unexpected. The story tells of God's unparalleled provision and points others in the direction of True North, toward the great lover of our souls, who is Christ Jesus ... the One who longs to move in our lives and heal all those harmed by the unspeakable.