An Invisible Child

Lenore Ossen, MSW, has written an autobiography, An Invisible Child, which is a true story of growing up trapped in the twisted world of a paranoid schizophrenic mother. Lenore is shut away from the outside world. For her, there is no school. No classmates. No friendships with other children. Under her mother's insane rules, she is not to be shown any love. She can't even turn to family members for solace, and so, day after day, she lives in panic and fear. How can she survive such terrible treatment? In deep despair, Lenore learns to retreat to the safety of her own mind. There she creates a world of fantasy and yearns for someone to take her away from her deranged mother. But there is no one to save her. Most people suffering such abuse would go out of their minds. What makes Lenore different? How does she endure? What drives her to rise above her traumatic past? In this compelling true story, Lenore Ossen describes what living in isolation with a psychotic mother feels like to an innocent child. In telling how she broke free of the nightmare enslaving her, she reaches out to give hope and comfort to other victims of abuse.