On the Ledge: A Memoir

Amy Turner's father attempted suicide in 1957, which led to her developing a pattern of hypervigilance. In 2010, she was hit by a pickup truck and nearly killed, but through acupuncture, somatic-oriented therapies, and serendipities, she healed the childhood trauma buried deep within her. On the Ledge is a poignant and intimate chronicle of her journey to self-discovery and healing.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 06 September 2022
Publisher: She Writes Press

In 1957, when Amy Turner was four years old, her father had to be talked down from a hotel ledge by a priest. The story of his attempted suicide received nationwide press coverage, and he spent months in a psychiatric facility before returning home. From then on, Amy constantly worried about him for reasons she didn't yet fully understand, triggering a pattern of hypervigilance that would plague her into adulthood.

In 2010, fifty-five years after her father’s attempted suicide, Amy—now a wife, mother, and lawyer-turned-schoolteacher—is convinced she’s dealt with all the psychological reverberations of her childhood. Then she steps into a crosswalk and is mowed down by a pickup truck—an accident that nearly kills her, and that ultimately propels her on a remarkable emotional journey. With the help of acupuncture, somatic-oriented therapies, and serendipities that might be attributed to grace, Amy first unravels the trauma of her own brush with death and then, unexpectedly, heals the childhood trauma buried far deeper.

Poignant and intimate, On the Ledge is Amy’s insightful and surprisingly humorous chronicle of coming to terms with herself and her parents as the distinct, vulnerable individuals they are. Perhaps more meaningfully, it offers proof that no matter how far along you are in life, it's never too late to find yourself.

Weight: 370g
Dimension: 141 x 215 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781647422257