Constantly criticized and controlled by her mother, Teresa was hungry for acceptance and fell into the clutches of a cruel and sexually deviant boy in her third-grade class. The childhood sexual and emotional abuse and manipulation continued and set the stage for further rejection in her school years.

When her high-functioning form of autism, Asperger's, led her to process relationships differently, she experienced further rejection at home, school, work, church, and in relationships. Food and alcohol became her comfort and obesity a refuge.

Not until the chains binding her to the approval of her mother were broken after her mother's death did Teresa begin to let the light of Christ fully into all the rooms of her life. Now learning to experience God's healing one hurt, one memory at a time, Teresa shares her story of restoration.

For anyone who feels "less than" and has been hiding behind alcohol or food addiction or memories of abuse, pain, and trauma, Teresa's story of hope shares the message that healing and restoration are possible.