Heart of Darkness - How I Triumphed Over a Childhood of Abuse

By Lynette Gould and Stephen Richards

As a mere infant, the chances of a safe and happy family life for Lynette Gould were torn to shreds when she was sexually violated beyond her comprehension. The once carefree and happy girl found herself suffering repeatedly at the hands of her own wicked father. Years of sexual degradation turned a beautiful girl's world into a cauldron of hate and self-loathing, leading to self-harm and ultimately numerous suicide attempts.After her father was imprisoned for his monstrous acts, Lynette's mother fell into a relationship with what seemed friendly and caring man - just what the family so desperately needed. But, disastrously for Lynette, he had a mind as evil as his predecessor. Taking up where Lynette's natural father left off, he subjected her to even more sexual abuse which lasted for years. Eventually he too was arrested, but committed suicide before he could be convicted - robbing Lynette of a vital sense of closure.The nightmare world of systematic abuse that tore Lynette's world apart never seemed to end; just as it seemed it could get no worse, she was lured into the hideous and shameful lives of a group of people involved in a child se ring, where cold-blooded adults callously took advantage of her crushed body and spirit. She was lost, dignity shredded, her innocence brutalised and her mental wellbeing damaged seemingly beyond rescue.What followed was a chain of care homes and attempted suicides that drove the deeply troubled adolescent to the very edge of madness. Bouts of self-harm left her body with scars which continue to bear silent witness to her incredible torment.But Lynette's life was pulled back from the brink of oblivion by the patient dedication and enduring friendship of a child counsellor, out of which salvation tentatively sprang.Though the almost unimaginable hell endures in her inescapable memories, Lynette is a survivor. Through her great courage she is now able to tell her own shocking story of multiple incest, multiple rapes and of being lured in to a child sex ring. Her story is horrifying and desperately sad and, in her own moving words, she speaks of her battle with the past and of those responsible for the evil which ruined it. But it is also a story with a message of hope.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Blake
• Release date: Jul 7, 2008
• ISBN: 9781782195511