My Nine Lives ─ A Psychotherapist's Journey from Victim to Survivor

This powerfully moving, brutally honest and inspiring memoir tells of the tumultuous life of renowned Melbourne-based Australian psychotherapist and Beyond Blue ambassador, Jane Leigh. Born in Singapore and raised in Perth, Western Australia, Jane's childhood was filled with emotional trauma. As a child, she suffered sexual assault at the hands of her parents and in her adolescent years, by priests of the Roman Catholic Church. At seventeen years of age, Jane was raped then forced into a loveless marriage, leaving her a single mother of two children at the age of twenty-three. Just as Jane began her struggle for survival, she was hit by more devastating news - the savage murder of her uncle David, the only true father she ever had. These events resulted in Jane being diagnosed with chronic depression and finally led to her severe mental breakdown in 2002, where she was confronted with two choices: Give up or stand and fight. Jane chose to confront the crippling impact of her sexual abuse and the aftermath left in the wake of its trauma. From legally confronting the unethical methods of one of Australia's largest private pathology companies to a series of failed, abusive relationships with men, Jane's touching story narrates her long, arduous journey of counselling, therapy, self-discovery and eventual healing. Jane went on to further her education and obtained her Masters degree in Counselling with Monash University. In 2007, Jane set up her own private counselling practice in western Melbourne, where, till this day, she continues, through her profession, personal experience and role as a Beyond Blue ambassador, to help thousands of people suffering from the debilitating effects of mental illness caused by trauma and abuse.