In her book, F.I.E.R.C.E., author Carolyn Colleen powerfully shares a personal story that is simultaneously riveting and heartbreaking. To come out on the other side of her experience smiling, happy, a great parent and spouse, educated, and fulfilled is nothing short of amazing. She has graciously shared with us, her readers, her personal model of resilience, and how one can approach becoming resilient one step at a time.
For those, like Carolyn, with childhood abuse histories, there is no need to try to answer the question she was often asked, “Why didn’t you leave?” But for others, whose lives were spared the horrific nature of childhood abuse, the answer is relatively simple: She couldn’t. Leaving has nothing to do with an unlocked door, access to car keys, or even someone who would take her and Eve in.
Carolyn was bound by a powerful, unimaginable prison that someone else created. It left her powerless. When one is powerless, one cannot leave.
That’s why the pages devoted to what happened to her during the years she was abused create an accurate and, for her, unchangeable scenario, until that moment of clarity when hope appeared. Carolyn had several people who deeply cared about her, and those few relationships were enough. Relationships are life-changing. Being in relationship with someone who truly cares, someone we can trust beyond any doubt, can eventually lead us from darkness to light. That’s what this book is about. I suspect you will not be able to put it down until you learn what F.I.E.R.C.E. meant for Carolyn and what it can mean for you, too, or for someone in your life who might benefit from knowing her story.