Survivors United

Hello, my name is Jenna Kandyce Linch-Rancifer and I am a child abuse survivor.   Growing up, I never had anyone to talk to about the abuse I was going through at home.  Most of the time I would sneak out of the house and go to a secret place I had to write down my feelings.  Unfortunately, my parents found my writings and destroyed them, claiming it was nothing but lies.  For me home became a prison and every day was an emotional hell.  I wanted a way out and couldn't wait until the day I could escape and be free from the pain forever.  At 17, I moved out of my house to set out to discover myself and start a new life.  I began writing as a way to get the emotions and feelings out that I had kept locked up inside for all those years growing up.  It never occured to me that my poems could help others who were going through abuse or had gone through it and felt alone in life.  With some encouragement from my friends, I decided to get my poems published.  Writing is my way of healing.  For me it is the best therapy, allowing me to release my inner feelings and emotions that I have kept locked inside for all those years.  Growing up, I was forcfed to remain silent about what I was going through.  But now that I am on my own, living my life for me, I have taken back control and use my poems as my voice to speak out about the abuse I went through as  a child.  I hope that through my poetry, I can inspire, encourage, and motivate other victims and survivors of abuse out there who haven't had a chance to be heard.

This is my first book that I have written and self-published through IUniverse.  It is available through Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Waldenbooks, Borders, and other major bookstores out there.  It is also available for order through Amazon.com.  At 21, I have found my purpose in life which is to be a writer and a life coach to motivate others to reach for their dreams in life and let them know that they are not alone.  With my book, I not only wish to spread awareness of abuse and show the realties of what abuse victims and survivors go through, but also encourage abuse survivors and victims to keep fighting in life and speak out about what they have gone through.  There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.  Taking My Life Back: Poems From The Healing Heart Of An Abuse Survivor is a glimpse into my past and a look at the emotions I felt growing up.  It is 267 pages and is available for $20.95 through IUniverse.  Prices vary depending on the bookstore.  It is my goal and sincere hope that this book will reach out and touch the lives of victims and survivors out there.  To all the abuse survivors and victims out there, I want to just say keep fighting.  Your stories are testimony to your strength, courage, and determination for survival. 

We’ve all gone through pain in our lives and endured trials that greatly affected us. Sometimes we feel lost and alone, thinking nobody understands the abuse we have gone through. Our hearts cry out for help to those around us. Yet the abuse that we suffered makes us feel vulnerable and not good enough in life. The after-effects can be quite damaging. It’s not always easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are times that we are standing on life’s edge, wondering if we will ever be free from the pain that we had in our past. But we are survivors who have come a long way in life and we are not alone. Our future doesn’t have to reflect our past. Those days of abuse are gone and now we must speak out and stand strong together as survivors, sharing our stories with others. I believe we can be a light to those who are going through abuse, letting them know they are not alone. These poems are here to offer encouragement to survivors and victims. We can take back control of our lives and have a new beginning. When we believe in ourselves, we can achieve anything. Our lives are far from finished for we have come too far to quit.

What one customer had to say about my book:

A Kid's Review
Although I am supposed to be reviewing another's person book, I would like to start off by saying a few things about myself. I have a master's degree in English and have read what are considered to be the greatest works ever, but I have never read a book that touched me so much nor that has helped me to confront my thoughts and feelings so much. Although Joyce's Ulysses, Lawerence's Women and Love and all of Shakespeare's plays are great works, what good are all these works to someone who has been abused and gone through all the issues I have had. Furthermore, even if Shakespeare did write about being abused, I would not have been able to get much out of it because it is the nature of the abused person to repress what has happened to him and not to mentally recreate his traumatic experience through the obscure words of another author. However, I will leave the psychological profiles to Miss Linch as she knows more than I do about recovering from abuse. Miss Linch's simple and emphathetic language invites one to confront one's own thoughts and feelings without fear of coming across some obscure language that unintentionally brings back repressed memories that will be unguarded because of the meanness of the other author's lanuguage. Moreover, because the author has been abused, the text has more authenticity than Shakespeare's would because Shakespeare wrote about heterosexual love when in fact he was really a homosexual. I feel as if Miss Linch's soul is in communion with mine, afterall, do books really derive their comforting power because of mere black words on a grey page or because of the belief that there is somebody out there who really understands our dark strange souls. In short, I feel that I have not only purchased a book, but that I have purchased a friend, a friend that I never had as a child.