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"Ashes to Flame" is Available Now, supporting you in your trauma recovery

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Ashes to Flame - Transforming Trauma Into Purpose

A Different Kind of Memoir

Searching for ways to heal emotionally? Start here for your trauma recovery journey. In Ashes to Flame, author Donna Simmons recounts a powerful, deeply personal, and transformative journey from the ashes of childhood trauma to the vibrant light of purpose. Born into a world shrouded by multi-generational cycles of abuse and child marriages, the author navigates a harrowing landscape of pain and betrayal, detailing the challenges that devastated her early years but ultimately did not define the person she became.  


Through poignant storytelling, she shares both moments of despair and the small victories that fueled her resilience. Each chapter reveals the transformative process of healing and self discovery - immersion in nature, finding solace in creativity, and connecting with a community of support and advocacy.  


Ashes to Flame chronicles the battle against the trauma of the past while highlighting the beauty of reclaiming one's identity and taking charge of their life's narrative. With raw honesty and hope, Donna Simmons inspires readers to confront their own traumas and discover their potential for growth and empowerment within. This memoir is a beacon for anyone seeking to rise from their traumatic histories and ignite their own flame of purpose. 

"ashes to flame" is a story that must be shared

Andy Beshear on ashes to flame

KY Governor Andy Beshear takes a moment to congratulate author Donna Simmons on publishing her memoir, Ashes to Flame. 

read the story that sparked a movement

Kate delaney interview on america tonight

Kate Delaney interviews author Donna Simmons to hear about her efforts to end child marriage across the country and how reframing trauma into purpose is the most powerful move one can make. 

get the full story now

I Survived and found my purpose. And i'm here to help you do the same.

  

In my healing journey, I have been told my pain is just too much - that my story is just too heavy. 

  

Yes, it is a LOT.
 

But my resilience and burning desire to transform is greater.

  

What’s really too much…is the shame. Is the pretending. Is the pain that gets passed down because no one talked about it.
 

Ashes to Flame - Transforming Trauma Into Purpose is for the ones finally finding their voice.
 

And for the ones still looking for it.

Get the book now

mariel hemingway's review of ashes to flame

  

Mental health advocate Mariel Hemingway highlights why Ashes to Flame is a POWERFUL and TRANSFORMATIONAL read in this video. 

read now & join the movement
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The Time for Change is Now

Advocacy is Personal

Child abuse can only be stopped if we first put an end to the laws that perpetuate it. 

Get Involved in the Movement

Generational Trauma Perpetuates Harm

We can't honestly say we value life if we are not making genuine efforts to improve and sustain it. What's one action YOU can take to address and disrupt cycles of generational harm? 

Get Involved in the Movement

Transform Trauma Into Purpose

Find out more

It's a Different Kind of Healing

We are building a movement to challenge legal and institutional policies that perpetuate harms against the vulnerable.  Join us to experience healing mentally and emotionally, and make a difference in your community.  

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Author's Bio

Becoming the Person I Needed

Donna Simmons is a wife, mother, author, and avid advocate for breaking cycles of generational trauma and mental health recovery.  As a Governor appointed member of the Kentucky Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, she works with public servants and providers across the state to support a reduction in juvenile system involvement and to strengthen protective factors for high risk youth.  Her passion for this work comes from her direct experience as a child abuse survivor, involvement in a behavioral health facility when she was 14, and the resulting grooming and exploitation by a 29 year old mental health professional who she was married off to as a child.

In Donna's healing journey, she has recognized that true trauma recovery can only occur when we are willing to examine the generational cycles that keeps us bound in harmful patterns.  Her mission is to help others transform their trauma into purpose so they can break these cycles and reach their full potential as individuals and parents.

In her memoir, Ashes to Flame, she details her personal experience of survival and encourages others to find their own innermost transformative power.

Her journey through the trauma of child marriage and exploitation can also be accessed through interviews and articles in Good Housekeeping, Glamour, NPR, Stateline, Fox News, US News and World Report, PBS, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, and the Louisville Courier-Journal, among many other outlets.  She is a frequent panelist, speaker, and trainer, and has given keynote speeches at both national and international conferences as well as testimony before legislative committees.  

Donna accepts invitations to participate in speaking engagements and panel discussions that advance the reach of her life's purpose.  

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