ISBN Scared Selfless

Scared Selfless

Now in paperback, a powerful and inspirational memoir of a shocking and improbable journey from torture to recovery.

Michelle Stevens has a photo of the exact moment her childhood was stolen from her: She’s only eight years old, posing for her mother’s boyfriend, Gary Lundquist–an elementary school teacher, neighborhood stalwart, and brutal pedophile. Later that night, Gary locks Michelle in a cage, tortures her repeatedly, and uses her to quench his voracious and deviant sexual whims. Little does she know that this will become her new reality for the next six years. Stevens can also pinpoint the moment she reconstituted the splintered pieces of her life: She’s in cap and gown, receiving her Ph.D. in psychology–and the university’s award for best dissertation.

The distance between these two points is the improbable journey from torture, loss, and mental illness to healing, recovery, and triumph that is Stevens’s powerful memoir, Scared Selfless. In this harrowing tale, Stevens, who was inspired to help others heal by becoming a psychotherapist, sheds light on the all-too-real threat of child sexual abuse, its subsequent psychological effects, and the best methods for victims to overcome their ordeals and, ultimately, thrive. Scared Selfless is both an examination of the extraordinary feats of the mind that are possible in the face of horrific trauma and Stevens’s courageous testament to their power.


About author(s)
Dr. Michelle Stevens, a psychologist, is the founder and director of Post-Traumatic Success, a nonprofit that educates and inspires those affected by psychological trauma. She studied writing at New York University before earning her doctorate from Saybrook University, where her thesis was honored as the Dissertation of Distinction. She works with survivors around the globe, encouraging them to heal, grow, and fight for better lives.