Bookbinder's Daughter: A Life Lost and Found

Born just after World War II, Judith Fisher had a seemingly normal childhood, but beneath the veneer of middle-class normalcy, her mother battled depression, migraines, and addiction to prescription pain relievers. By the time Judith was ten, her mom had suffered three nervous breakdowns and had had a number of electroshock treatments. In an attempt to gain control over her own troubled life, she maintained strict control over her daughter's every action, forging a bond that was highly manipulative and, at the same time, loving.

By age fourteen, young Judith had absorbed all the stresses of a dysfunctional family life and was desperate for a way out. She attempted suicide, but survived. A year later, she departed for a New England boarding school, a welcome relief from her troubled home, and a hope for recovery. In her senior year, however, through a series of misfortunes and betrayals, Judith's parents had her incarcerated in a mental hospital for seven months; there she was subjected to twenty-seven electroshock treatments and an attempted rape. Somehow, she lived through these appalling abuses and managed to escape being locked up permanently.

"This daring memoir escorts the reader from love to terror and back again. A stunning journey into the delicate dynamics of a family in crisis. Yet Judith is tenacious, smart, and reflective the very qualities that enable humans to conquer their shadows and emerge into the light beyond. -- Linda Lambert "Author of seven award-winning leadership books."

"Judith Fisher's memoir is scary and worrisome, but at the same time filled with both her incredible creative spirit and indomitable internal strength. She is a woman as ordinary as the rest of us, and as extraordinary as the true artist. She took the abuse the world dealt her and ripened it into compassion and a life of service and integrity." -- Ida Rae Egli "Editor, No Rooms of Their Own: Women Writers of Early California 1848 to 1869"

"Real lives are so much more interesting and inspirational than textbook clinical cases or even fictionalized characters, because you know the miracles really did happen. In Bookbinder's Daughter we see transformation happening as the memoir unfolds. Out of the darkest of times as an adolescent arises a radiant woman." -- David Skibbins, Ph. D. "Author of the Tarot Mystery Series, Working Sober and Becoming a Life Coach"

"What does it take to find serenity after a childhood fraught with the rage of an emotionally fragile mother and an adolescence darkened by mental hospitals, rape, and suicidal despair? In vivid and moving vignettes, Judith Fisher takes the reader on an emotional journey from Cobleskill, New York, to her life as principal of a healing arts center on the Mendocino Coast. Along the way she has achieved another dream: to become a writer whose words 'bring light into the dark places where people hide their secrets from themselves and others' and show them they are not alone they too can survive and heal." -- Maureen Eppstein "Executive Director, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference"

"Reminiscent of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, Judith Fisher's poignant memoir recounts her tumble into mental illness. Her struggle to reclaim herself is heroic and evocative." -- Nona Smith "Author of Stuffed: Emptying the Hoarder's Nest"

"Bookbinder's Daughter is brilliant. Judith Fisher's indomitable spirit keeps showing up to make sense of and then use adversity to stand tall and move forward from dysfunctional mother imprints, the horrors of electroshock therapy, and the repercussions of her attempted suicide. This book is a must read for anyone who needs to see how to turn despair into faith and transform dreams into reality." -- Fred Mitouer, Ph. D. "Author, Wounds into Blessings; creator of Transformational BodyworkSM"

"Bookbinder's Daughter is a brave, inspiring memoir, a tale of unrelenting resilience and redemption. Judith Fisher tells all her horrific experiences, seemingly impossible challenges, and sweet triumphs with stunning honesty. I love knowing her through this book, and feel so gifted by the beauty of her transformative life." -- Katie Atherton "LCSW"