10% of Profits Donated to Child Abuse Prevention

I was three years old when I entered the orphanage.  Here is a picture of me with a sister's arm around me. I wasn't unhappy. I didn't miss my mother. I was surrounded by the love and nurturance of my sisters. But, as is the case with most abandoned children, we were eventually separated and placed into foster care.

I was traumatized by the separation from my sisters. I would carry that within my broken heart for forty-three years. Until...

"Broken Water" is a memoir that tells the true story of my efforts to survive child abuse in a foster home while seeking to reunite with my sisters. It invites the reader to journey with me through a miraculous reunion followed by a 15-year effort to learn my family's history and to write each sister's heart-wrenching story of abuse and abandonment. It shares our experiences while living in orphanages, foster care and adoptions. Sadly, the stories of children in the system today are hauntingly familiar.

In spite of it all, "Broken Water" is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the strength of a bonded sisterhood, and the power found in having faith in miracles and something greater than the self. 

You can heal your sorrows. You can share your joys.

I have lived long enough to believe that things happen for a purpose. If you believe that is true, read on dear friend. You are here for a reason.

I am committed to sharing the healing, hope and inspiration that has been showered down upon me during my life thus far--miracles, I guess you could say. To that end, I have written a memoir that is full of opposites: hope and despair, sadness and joy, tears and laughter; a tale of being lost and then found, broken and then mended. I offer my writing to the world with the sincere desire that those who come across "Broken Water" will find within the pages the words for feelings they have yet to express, space to feel them and the inspiration and motivation required to walk their unique path toward healing from childhood trauma.

But this book is not about me alone. It is about 11 sisters who journeyed similar paths, though separated from each other. It is about the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood, healing from childhood abuse, and reclaiming a life to be lived to its fullest. 

If this sounds like your type of book, please know that 10% of all profits is donated to organizations that prevent child abuse. If not, I hope you find the other offerings on these pages to be of benefit to you or someone you love. I speak to you from my open heart. I hope you read and listen from yours.

Writer's Digest Review

It is astonishing that all 11 of the sisters survived their childhood abuse and abandonment to overcome their trauma and became competent, successful parents themselves. The chapter quotes perfectly introduce the reader to the oncoming information and stories of each sister. Lane is to be highly commended for her perseverance in pursuing each sister’s individual story. Her writing pulls the reader into the emotions and depth of the trauma each sister experienced at such young ages from their parent's behavior and their foster care. Her sharing of the “knowingness” and the psychic tendencies that ran through the family including her father, is also important to their connection to each other and to the story. The research, travel involved, recording of each sister’s words, including the author’s personal story are riveting. Details and descriptions create excellent images for the reader. Photos of the sisters express a joy finally achieved. Broken Water is a powerful, compelling story that reveals the failure of orphanages and foster care of years past. It reinforces the need for close inspections of children who live in foster care or boarding schools today. This book was impossible to put down until I finished reading every word.

Online Book Club Review

Review of Broken Water 

Post by Alissa Deann Devargas » 09 Nov 2024, 04:05

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Broken Water" by Barbara Lane.]
5 out of 5 stars

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Child sexual abuse is a crime that seriously needs to be checked. Not only does this affect the development of the child, it also leaves a lasting mark that is difficult to erase. While reading this book, Broken Water, by Barbara Lane, I came to learn more about the effects of this malady from the stories of her eleven sisters. This is a memoir of eleven sisters who were lost to each other for forty-three years.

Barbara remembers very little of their stay with their parents because she was among the youngest of the eleven girls. She remembered a little about their life in the orphanage, the kindness she was shown there, and how protective her sisters were of her. However, her nightmares began when she and her immediate elder sister, Kay, were assigned to the foster home of Bernard and Leonarda. While there, they gave off the perfect picture of a happy family; in fact, their picture was posted in the newspaper to encourage foster care. However, Bernard was an evil man who secretly worked for the mafia. He easily flew into a rage and beat her and her sister. To add it all, he sexually abused both Barbara and her sister, Kay. For many years, they suffered this. My heart skipped when Leonarda even asked Kay to sleep with Bernard in his room while she slept with Barbara with the excuse that her arthritis made her move around a lot at night, disturbing her husband. I thought, 'How could a woman be so insensitive?'

I've read and watched very few stories that advocate foster care; most of them involve abuse in different forms. However, in those stories, those villains were caught and dealt with. So I wanted Bernard to suffer so much. After reuniting with her sisters, Barbara set out on a mission to gather their stories about what happened in their lives. That way she'd probably get answers as to why her family was broken up and scattered. If there was something I learned from these stories told by the sisters, I learned that a mother's love is very important to children. Losing it affects a child one way or another.

There was nothing to dislike about this book. It was an interesting story that fully engaged my emotions. In the beginning, I longed with Barbara to find her sisters. When they started telling their stories, I was eager to read about each of them. I must commend the author for the level of honesty that was fused into this book. She told the stories as each of the sisters related them, even if there seemed to be a mix-up. With all these considered, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's an emotionally charged book that needs to be read by nuns in orphanages, social workers, and the part of the government that deals with children in the system. That way, they can learn how to improve in their work and what to change in order to give these children better lives.

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Broken Water
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My heart is dedicated to protecting and supporting children who have suffered from abuse and neglect. I also have a strong passion for helping individuals recover from traumatic childhoods. Ever since my book "Broken Water" was published, I have been overwhelmed with messages from readers who have found healing through its words. It's incredible how much power can be found in sharing our stories. I encourage you to connect with me on social media, subscribe to my blog and newsletter, and visit this website regularly for helpful resources as you navigate your personal journey towards healing from childhood wounds.

Find out more by visiting Healing Childhood Pain