From Struggles to Strength:
A Parent’s Journey through mental health challenges
Available Now to
Agents and Editors
From Struggles to Strength:
A Parent’s Journey through mental health challenges
Available Now to Agents and Editors
About Bittersweet Journey
Nurturing My Daughter through an Eating Disorder
When Serena discovers that her 15-year-old daughter Ellie is contemplating suicide, she marshals all her resources to help her firstborn, from finding the best clinicians to organizing a mother-daughter getaway. Yet Ellie declines into an even deeper depression. When Ellie finally admits that she has an eating disorder and enters treatment, Serena must revisit her own teenage struggle with bulimia. Their shared connection and Serena’s best efforts are not enough to prevent Ellie from a full breakdown. As Ellie wrestles with her illness, Serena must confront her own questions: is there anything she can do to help her daughter heal, and how will she sustain herself if Ellie refuses to choose recovery?
About Our Story
Serena Menken writes books and articles that capture the unique moments of gut-wrenching pain and heartfelt joy experienced by parents of teens with mental health concerns. She counts each day of her three decades of recovery from bulimia as a gift. However, nurturing her oldest daughter through a similar disorder proved to be even more challenging and ultimately rewarding. She writes under a pen name to protect her daughter’s privacy while sharing her family’s story authentically. When she’s not writing, Serena works full-time as a nonprofit leader, enjoys her three teenage children, and bikes through forest preserves with her husband.
Praise from Early Readers
"A must-read! As a parent to two teenage girls, I was fully invested in seeing this mother-and-daughter pair thrive. Their heartfelt journey had me on the edge of my seat, with Serena's honest and beautiful prose narrating us into a satisfying conclusion."
—Ann
“An honest and heartfelt story of a mom guiding her daughter to recovery while navigating her own.”
—Joyce
“Reading a book in a day is unprecedented for me but I could not put this one down. I cried every 10-15 pages. This book spoke to me in important ways about parenting my daughters, one of whom struggles with depression and another who is exploring her struggles with food.”
—Andrew
These songs have been my companions on the rollercoaster journey of parenting mental health. Some songs help me express my love and care for my daughter. Others help me to find hope in God in hard moments. I hope this music soothes your soul as it does mine!
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