Sharon Cheston

God Forgot About Me Sharon Cheston

Eight-year-old Ellie prays to God in church for her sexual and physical abuse to stop. But it doesn't. She believes that the only logical explanation is that God forgot about her. Decades later, Ellie is faced with the early death of her husband, whom she saw as her earthly "savior." Her grief overwhelms her, and for the first time, she considers going into counseling when a friend suggests that grief counseling might help her to crawl out of her abyss. Despite her reluctance, Ellie decides that she will give grief counseling a try but promises herself that she will never talk about her childhood abuse. However, Ellie finds that therapy is not what she expects. In the safety of Lisa's office, Ellie begins to share her deepest horrors that lay buried for years. Speaking out loud about the pain of her childhood provides Ellie the portal through which she can process her rage, hurt, and fear of the silent God, whom she believed had forgotten about her. As she and Lisa work together, a series of events unfold, which lead to her healing. Ellie's penultimate challenge occurs when her sister and brother reconnect with her and her father dies. These events send her back to her hometown, where she discovers the sacred coincidences that she had been dismissing. The reader will have an intimate look at the power of the therapeutic relationship from inside the minds and hearts of both the therapist and client.