How I Endured a Brutal Attack and a Lifetime of Trauma through the Power of Action, Choice, and Self Expression
Listen to my podcast interview with the author here:
Imagine at the young age of 21, waking up to a strange man in your bed with his hands on you touching and restraining you. Then having the ferocity to fight him off while being stabbed seven times, losing 21 pints of blood, and then against all odds fighting to survive only to have your medical team and the police blame you for the stabbing.
It sounds like a nightmare or something you’d watch in a horror movie, but this is a real story told by the woman who lived it: actress, dancer, choreographer, and now author Lynn Forney in her new book “Choosing Survival”.
After struggling with clinical depression throughout her youth and adolescence, Lynn Forney was on her way to healing when she went to visit her Mother In Boca Rattan, Florida. That’s where her nightmare played out. The Author walks the reader through her life’s most difficult experiences leading up to, during, and after the attack in a way that puts us in her shoes. We see through her eyes as they fight to stay open and cling to life. We feel her fear as a writer as she resists hitting delete and instead chooses to keep telling her story. She keeps us with her every step of the way.
Lynn Forney’s storytelling in “Choosing Survival” is candid, emotional, and both unbelievable and believable at the same time. This story culminates in the unbelievable but true story of the City of Boca Ratan’s Police being found guilty of covering up violent crimes including rapes, arson, and in her case a stabbing in order to protect the city’s shiny, rich reputation. But, what was disturbingly believable for me was the way she was treated by the very systems that were supposed to protect and serve the most vulnerable.
From being accused of stabbing herself by health professionals to being asked if she was covering for her mother by the police, to enduring questions like “What did you do to piss him off?” from friends and family, this story is all too relatable for women who have experienced sexual assault and rape.
Readers will not be able to put this book down. It is a deeply personal and moving story about a journey through mental health challenges, personal horrors, and a path to healing.
You can listen to my personal interview with Lynn on Locker Room Talk & Shots Podcast here.
You can purchase Choosing Survival Here
