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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English
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SCARED SELFLESS

Michelle Stevens

My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving

A powerful memoir of a shocking and improbable journey from torture to recovery, SCARED SELFLESS will do for multiple personality disorder what An Unquiet Mind did for bipolar depression. Michelle Stevens, Ph.D., a psychologist, is the founder and director of Post-Traumatic Success, a nonprofit that educates and inspires those affected by psychological trauma.
A powerful memoir of a shocking and improbable journey from torture to recovery, SCARED SELFLESS will do for multiple personality disorder what An Unquiet Mind did for bipolar depression.

Michelle Stevens has a photo of the exact moment her childhood was stolen. She’s only eight years old and posing for her mother’s beguiling 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.

Michelle can also pinpoint the moment she reconstituted the splintered pieces of her life. Just a few years after being confined to a mental hospital, she’s in a 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 recovery that isSCARED SELFLESS.

Gary Lundquist kept Michelle as his sex slave for six years. During that time, he waged a campaign of unimaginable cruelty. He pimped her out to countless men and forced her to perform in kiddie porn. It took fifteen years, three hospitalizations, and multiple suicide attempts for Michelle to work through Gary’s dark legacy. She suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and multiple personalities: the rebellious teenager who told her boss to shove it, a tween with homicidal rage, and a sweet little girl who brought a teddy bear on a first date.

In this unflinching reflection, Michelle, now a psychotherapist, sheds light on the threat of sexual abuse and the effects on its victims and methods for healing. SCARED SELFLESS is an examination of the extraordinary and inexplicable feats of the mind in the face of horrifying trauma and the story of Michelle’s courageous road to healing, recovery, and triumph.

Michelle Stevens, Ph.D., 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. She lives in Pasadena, California.
Available products
Book

Published 2017-03-21 by Putnam

Book

Published 2017-03-21 by Putnam

Comments

Courageous and insightful, Stevens' book is not only important for the light it sheds on some of the effects of extreme sexual abuse. It also provides hope to survivors that living "a successful and satisfying life" is absolutely possible. A raw and powerful account from a survivor of unspeakable abuse. Read more...

In Scared Selfless, Dr. Michelle Stevens takes readers on a remarkable journey. Her account of childhood trauma — told with candor and, yes, even wit — and how she found the strength and resilience to ultimately recover and triumph is an inspiration not just to other survivors, but to us all. The book is a guide for anybody seeking to overcome challenges and lead a richer and fuller life.

Scared Selfless is a riveting memoir that takes readers on a roller coaster ride from the depths of hell to triumphant success.Michelle’sextraordinarylife story anddiligent, compassionate work as a therapist teaches us that, with true-grit determination, it’s possible to overcome the worst adversity.Scared Selflessoffers courage, strength, and resilienceto anyone who desires a better life.

Michelle has taped an in-studio interview with Dr. Phil that will be 2-segments (totaling about 15 minutes) airing on pub day. The show is about human trafficking and features a woman recently rescued and suffering from severe trauma. Michelle is featured, telling her story as a real life example of hope, and that you can live a happy life after suffering through something so horrific. At the end of the segment, Dr. Phil endorses the book saying how important it is and reminds viewers that the book is on sale that day. Also included is a book giveaway to 250 audience members.

Michelle is doing an in-person interview with crime reporter Elaine Aradillas, who also wrote PEOPLE’s piece for HOPE about the Cleveland girls kidnapping. In addition to the interview, they’ll include photos of Michelle throughout her life, and a 1,000-word excerpt from the book (confirmed by subsidiary rights). This will be in March issue around publication.

What an astonishing and extraordinary book! I wasn't planning to read the whole book in one sitting, but I literally couldn't put it down. In a few brief hours I experienced shock, dismay, and eventually hope as Michelle Stevens shared her remarkable journey. Then I told five friends, 'You have to read this book.' Now I am telling you—'You have to read this book.' It is a story that has to be told. I celebrate Michelle Stevens for having the courage to write it. It will mesmerize you, confound you, and eventually inspire you—as you realize that anything, no matter how horrific—can be overcome.

Michelle Stevens has written a fierce, honest account of her life that will stay with any reader long after the last page has turned. This book does more to explain what it feels like to live with the effects of trauma than anything I've ever read. It's the rare book that's both personal and clinical. It should be a resource and an inspiration not just to survivors but to those who love and seek to understand them.

This is a captivating yet harrowing read of innocence denied, a childhood obliterated, parental indifference, grotesque and serial predation, psychopathy, and institutional inadequacies. But one has to exhale to be fair, because that is not all. This is a story about the psychological legacy of abuse, the struggle to survive a troubled mind, the challenges of finding elusive help and about finally and triumphantly finding redemption through the most unapologetic example of personal grit I’ve ever read.