Book excerpt: I was sexually abused as a young child and spent many years trying to remember and then trying to forget, while dealing with the aftermath. I struggled with relationships and intimacy, had multiple psychiatric ward stays, several different diagnoses, suicide attempts and periodic unprofessional psychiatric care. How could I become an authentic whole woman? I spent close to 30 years as a counselor facilitating both small and large groups. I also volunteered as a Peer Support Worker, both at the Canadian Mental Health Association at their Clubhouse and on the In-Patient Psychiatric Unit. For most of those years I was part of the "walking wounded." I came out to to Vancouver after college, and fell in love with the West Coast. From the age of 21 I never lived anywhere else. I currently live on scenic Vancouver Island with my tortoiseshell cat among my book shelves and piles of books.