Beyond These Walls- The True Story of a Lost Child's Journey to a Whole Life

Rachel Gunner Humanistic Inspirational Psychotherapist and Author

photo credit: Morrie Schulman

Author Biography

Rachel Gunner is the author of the critically acclaimed non-fiction book Beyond These Walls that Cheryl Ellis of Allbooks Reviews describes as “a haunting story that readers will not soon forget.” Co-authored by Hanna Gabriele, a woman who lived with 26 personalities, the boo ...
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Beyond These Walls: The Story of a Lost Child's Journey to a Whole Life

Beyond These Walls- The True Story of a Lost Child's Journey to a Whole Life

Synopsis:

Why is this book different? It's the story about 27 "real" persons - one therapist, myself - a real self not afraid to go beyond my walls of the helping profession, to be open, honest, available and admit my mistakes; and Hanna, a courageous woman who suffered years of horrific abuse, and whose only way of coping was to create 26 separate selves - a process labled as DID (Disassociative Identity Disorder). Beyond her walls was a little girl yearning to grow up, to learn and above all, to heal.

This is our story, our journey through hours, days and months learning together, challenging each other, listening to each other, being scared, breaking down walls, and above all discovering how hope, faith and loving relationships are the most powerful healers.

Book Excerpt:

I knew we had much work to do to get beyond this pain. There was something though that continued to gnaw at me. I was missing a key element in understanding Gabriele. I knew from the literature and my professional experience that sexually abused children often withdraw, and as adults, they build a wall to protect themselves from closeness and potential hurt from others. There did seem to be a wall, a shield, between Gabriele and myself. It manifested itself in the lack of outward emotion as we talked, and in missing pieces of information. Why was she so self-abusive? What was happening late at night that caused such fears that she could not sleep? Why was she not able to digest any food? Why were there so many holes and unknowns?

During all these meetings, I still had seen no signs that anyone else existed but a vulnerable scared woman. I was right about one thing. She was scared and vulnerable, but I was soon to discover that she wasn't just one woman.

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Author Comment:

We hope everyone can learn from our mission: that love triumphs over abuse, determination over frustration, and life over death. Our words may bring tears to your eyes - tears of great pain for the loss of a childhood, and tears of great joy for a young woman's rebirth. We hope our honesty will help both professionals and laypersons grow to be better human beings.