The Broken Girl

Author Jennifer Gordon has always possessed a desire to help those facing the effects of all types of abuse: physical, sexual and emotional. In her novel, "The Broken Girl" (ISBN 1456379577), she seeks to illustrate how victims often turn their anger and pain inwards, leading to feelings of shame, guilt, hopelessness, and self-loathing. Intended for teenage victims of abuse, Gordon's book aims to offer victims the opportunity for self-forgiveness and recovery. Fourteen-year old Lailie remembers a time when she was happy, before she believes she did something terrible, something so terrible that she has shut it out of her memory. But her past comes flooding back to her when Lailie encounters the ghost of a little girl in her house's basement closet. The ghost helps her to uncover the truth about her past-and how to finally forgive and love herself. "This book is as much a work of fiction as it as a self-help book for victims of any kind of abuse," says Gordon. "I hope that when victims read this book they can relate to Lailie and are encouraged to get help." Gordon creates a fictional storyline that features a heroine she hopes teenage girls will be able to relate to. By helping them understand that they're not alone, the author opens the door to recovery for abuse victims. The self-help portion of the book aims to provide readers with the information, tools, and resources necessary to reach out for assistance, leave behind any abusive situations and, eventually, begin to heal. "The Broken Girl" seeks to combine a young girl's heartbreaking story with an informative self-help section to teach victims how to receive proper treatment. Through Lailie's character, Gordon intends to speak directly to victims of abuse to offer comfort, helping them to abandon their feelings of loneliness, guilt, self-deprecation, and despair and to overcome the body-image problems, self-destructive behaviours, and suicidal tendencies that arise from them.