Getting Here from There
The First 10 Years
by Donna Armstrong

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Learn to tell your truth from a reflective, honest, nonreactive perceptive. Recently retired from a challenging legal career, Donna Armstrong is asking the big questions: Who am I now? Why am I here now? Why am I still so Lonely? Digging in to the first ten years of her life, Armstrong uncovers secrets and hidden truth and treasure. Blame and anger turned to wonder and curiosity. The emotions and trauma experinced in those first ten years were still defining her. And yet her ability to survive and the techniques she developed also came to shape who she became. In Getting Here From There, Ms Armstrong proves that where you start need have no bearing on where you end up. Born the youngest of six siblings in a farming family, the idyllic backdrop hid a hostile and unwelcoming environment. The messages Donna received in those formative years were clear, you are ugly, your birth caused our Mother's mental illness, if you tell you will not be believed. There is a dark side to her family. There are villians. Thankfully there is also survival and thriving and strength. Getting Here from There shows you how Donna Armstrong came to forgive and even be thankful for the people who mistreated her. It is a gripping bumpy ride.

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The book’s tone is candid in expressing difficult instances and inner turmoil, including struggles to overcome an eating disorder, constant fear arising from growing up in a dysfunctional family, and feelings of loneliness. Its present-set diary entries recount past events alongside everyday activities and feelings, resulting in a close, comprehensive account. Thoughtful and inspiring, Getting Here From There is a memoir about overcoming childhood trauma." ​ - Reviewed by Edith Wairimu, Foreword Clarion Reviews. 4/5 stars

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Working for many years as a Social Worker and then as a Lawyer with victims of abuse, the author, Donna Armstrong, has first hand experience and insight into how the Criminal Justice System fails victims. She saw how the very methods people use to protect themselves can actually make them compromised witnesses. As an abuse victim herself, she knows the shame of hidden secrets, the feelings of unworthiness, the impatience and anger waiting for justice, the extreme difficulty in telling the truth and the relief of survival. The truth is often hurtful and often misses its mark and may cause the wrong people to suffer. That is why Donna chose to write initially under a pen name and why all names were changed and locations made anonymous to avoid causing harm. Now it is important to come out and publish under her real identity. Donna lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At the time of the first publication with her best friend her dog Codey. Codey passed away October 19, 2021 and is still very present. Donna is happily retired and gratefully surrounded by her chosen family of friends.

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Author

Donna Armstrong

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