Jolene's Story
Jolene Goh
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2012
ISBN: 9789814398114

Jolene is only 22 years old, but her unspoken story will make you think twice about the big picture in life. Does coming from a broken family mean you have to stay broken all your life?

Born illegitimate, abandoned by her father, sexually abused by her stepfather, and called a liar by her mother, Jolene never had a carefree childhood nor a warm loving family that is the right of every child. She lived in constant fear of her stepfather, never knowing when he would impose himself on her. She was angry, depressed and miserable. She rebelled, sniffed glue, took drugs, joined gangs, and ended up in the Singapore Girls' Home.

Today, Jolene holds a secure job and is helping her family pay off their debts. This is the story of how that girl picked herself up and made a better life for herself and her mother. With piercing honesty, Jolene's Story is about a girl trying to make sense of her life and change it for the better.

But that is not all. She has her reasons for opening up her life to the public for full scrutiny and for all to judge. She wants her biological father to realize that without him all these years, without any love, care and concern for her, she is doing well, published a book and is successful. For the sake of her stepbrothers, she didn't want to have her stepfather charged in court. But she wants her stepbrothers and the public to know the cold truth of what he had done to her and the nightmare he put her through. She also wants to show the world that not every break-up leads to slitting of your wrists, not every failure leads to a hopeless future, and not every mistake will cause you to be condemned forever. She has been through so much more than most of us and has come out a stronger person.