Not Forsaken: Jennifer's Story Of Overcoming Abuse

HOUSTON — Jennifer Greenberg hardly seems like the type the average person would view as an abuse survivor, if there really is a type. She’s a talented singer and musician, an accomplished writer, and she’s married to the love of her life, Jason Greenberg, and together they have three rambunctious daughters.

Most photos of the lady referred to as Jenn, show a radiant smile, but as most know a smile can hide a lot. For Jennifer, the smile was a facade to hide the pain that came from years of abuse.

Last year, and after lots of prayer, Jenn mustered the courage to write her first book, “Not Forsaken.”

From her personal perspective, she shares the details of the abuse suffered in a so-called Christian family at the hands of a father who lusted for her, and a mother who seemingly looked the other way.

Others that she connected with through blogging or social media, also shared their stories of unimaginable pain and subsequent ridicule and self-loathing that came as a result.

Her book, which took the stay at home mom just a few short months to write, became available for pre-order through the publisher, the Good Book Company, and will be available through Amazon.com later this year.

“Everything has been such a blur,” Greenberg told Patch.

But who would want to read such a depressing book on such a dark and forbidden subject? Better yet, who would publish such a sad tale?

Greenberg says it was a pretty tough go trying to sell a true life abuse story to publishers, and she spent about six months .

It seems that God’s timing may be in play for Greenberg's first book. She finished her manuscript as the #MeToo movement was at its height.

“It’s such a controversial topic, but when I pitched to The Good Book, I heard back in a week. It was really quick,” she said.

There were incidents in the book that paralleled what was happening in the news, particularly during the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and while his alleged victim never reported the incident.

Although the book evolved somewhat in the editing process, Greenberg said it stays true to her own store of surviving and eventually thriving.

The pre-order for Not Forsaken seemed to have its own parallels and was announced as the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal began to emerge.

“It’s been kind of a surreal experience,” she says. “I feel like it’s tragic. On one hand, I really didn’t want my book to be this relevant, but at the same time, these abuses that are coming to light didn’t just happen. These happened long before I started writing.”

Still, the uncanniness of how her first book has played out along the lines of current events has lefty her a bit floored, she says.

Greenberg will be talking about her book on Tuesday, March 12 at the Christian Business Luncheon in Tomball, which means the pre-order copies could go fast.

To learn more about Jennifer's story, or to pre-order her book, click here.

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