Twisted Roots, Standing Tall

Book excerpt: Childhood sexual abuse is the most traumatic of all wounds, for it is a betrayal at the very root of our being. It turns us against ourselves in such a way that, more often than not, victims become convinced that the fault is theirs. To find a way back from that injury, to prevail and rise above it, is to do the seemingly impossible. In Twisted Roots, Standing Tall, author Anne de Nada recounts her long dance from the darkness of the soul into the love and light of an open heart, as she courageously heeds her soul’s insistence and clears away her legacy of trauma from both infant sexual abuse and incest. Born into both emotional and economic poverty, Anne’s early life consisted of only obstacles and challenges. But she never gave up, and she continually trusted in her own guidance, being rewarded with insight and wisdom. Whenever it felt like her life was not flowing, she took that as a sign that it was time to do more healing, clearing away the trauma that lay embedded deep in cellular memory. Anne’s story speaks to the gift of grace and the indomitable courage of the human heart. As Anne continued to heal, she discovered many essential truths about life, among them that we are never given something we cannot handle, that life is about manifesting the deepest desires of our hearts, and that the thing we most fear is our own greatness.