Broken To Be Beautiful – The forging of a warrior

Synopsis: I have authored four books, and my last book is Called Broken To Be Beautiful, this is part of my autobiography. I grew up in the UK, and after being sexually abused as a child it led me into making some bad choices which includes marrying a man who abused me for 15 years. After having four children I realised that the fear of staying with this man outweighed the fear of leaving all the unknowns that leaving would bring. I believed I would either die at his hands or my hand if I stayed, but if I left, I had a chance of giving my children a better life. A few years later, I married again to a wonderful Australian man called Simon and when my children felt safe they disclosed that when they went back to their father he was sexually abusing them. After a court case where he was found guilty and was sentenced to prison, my husband adopted my children and we made our way to Australia to join with his family and start our lives again. I was 2020 Gold Coast woman of the year for the Heart of Women and 2020's Westfield's Local Hero, because of the work with the charity that Simon and I founded, At The Ark supports families recovering from their children being sexually abused and recovering from Domestic and family violence. we support families, hold workshops to equip families and the village that helps to build into children's lives, and have a preventative program which involves the other books that I have written called Brave Little Bear.