Author's Bio

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.