As The Sycamore Grows

“Helderman chronicles a woman's journey from battered wife to advocate for victims of spousal abuse in this nonfiction work...At times a difficult read, but the humanity and McNeil's indomitable spirit shine through.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 100 Best Indie Books of 2023

Book Excellence Award Finalist—Non-Fiction

A Hidden Cabin, the Bible and a .38

A Special Updated Edition

By Jennie Miller Helderman

RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2023

A cabin behind a padlocked gate. No power. No phone. Only Revelation and a .38. A true story of abuse, loss, redemption and hope that winds from south Texas to a sycamore tree in Tennessee. Mike escaped his father's fists, but years later glimpsed himself in his father's casket. Ginger named the sycamore tree for her son Trent. It grew slowly like independence. This is Ginger's story and Mike's, yet it didn't begin with them. Journalist Jennie Miller Helderman's harrowing narrative takes the reader inside Ginger and Mike's world. She interviewed both the abuse survivor, her abuser, family members, friends and others, who knew the couple. In this special updated edition, Helderman revisits what has happened to Ginger in the interim and offers resources for those with violent partners. During Covid-19, cases escalated dramatically, because isolation from friends and family is one of the main tools in an abuser's arsenal of weapons.

Genre/category: Family & Relationships/Domestic Abuse, Biography/Survival

Goodreads: Click Here

As The Sycamore Grows: A Hidden Cabin, the Bible and a .38
Paperback ISBN 9781950495337
$19.99

MEDIA KIT

Press release including virtual press kit:
Click Here (includes author photos & book cover)

Meet The Author

Jennie Miller Helderman

Reviews

“Jennie Helderman has taken a heart-breaking issue and boiled it down to human beings, of flesh and blood and lost days and fearful nights. It opens the door on a too-common human story and closes you in with it.”—Rick Bragg, Pulitzer Prize-winner and international bestselling author of All Over But the Shouting and many other The New York Times bestsellers

“Rarely has a story of a woman’s courageous fight for freedom been told in such an eloquent and moving way. And, even more unusual, we get an open view into the twisted mentality of a man who was able, like so many abusers, to convince the outside world that he was normal. A hard book to put down.”—Lundy Bancroft, author of “Why Does He Do That?” and co-author of “Should I Stay or Should I Go”

“This story grabs hold of your heart and squeezes it dry. It is a tale so touching, so emotionally overwhelming, women will cringe and thank God they never had to walk in Ginger’s shoes, and men will wish they could have met Ginger’s husband in a dark alley. I applaud author Jennie Helderman’s gift for writing, and I marvel at Ginger’s courage for sharing it.”—Jedwin Smith, two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, author of “Our Brother’s Keeper and Fatal Treasure”

“With the careful eye of a journalist and the committed heart of a creative writer, Helderman provides witness to the kind of domestic violence and its after-effects that too many women suffer without the ability to express its tragedy. ‘As the Sycamore Grows’ becomes a fully realized and powerful account as Helderman twines her voice with that of Ginger, an abuse survivor. Such a story demands that it be told loud and clear, which is just what Helderman does.”—Sue William Silverman, author of “Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You” and “Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir”

“…a life-story of emancipation, personal fulfillment, and escape — not only from a padlocked cabin in the woods, but from a backwards anti-feminist culture into the broader world of contemporary human rights that is America’s mainstream attitudes towards women’s rights. Deftly written by an accomplished author…”—Midwest Book Review

“A compelling story told with great courage and clarity that makes for an urgent read — it ends far too quickly leaving the reader wanting more! It may be the most important book I read this year.”—Joe Carrel Daniel, attorney, Florence, Alabama

“I certainly recommend this to the reader that is prepared for the journey, the real-life story of real people caught in the whirlwind of a heritage of abuse within their family tree. It takes strength and fortitude to grasp this book and then a bold step to open it.” —Barbara Miller, Pacific Book Review

“Jennie Helderman’s thoroughly documented book proves the cycle of domestic violence can be broken, hope exists for the batterer and the abused, and the written word has the power to heal.” —Lynn Hesse, retired detective and author of “A Matter of Respect, Murder in Mobile Series, Book 2” and other multi-genre mystery, suspense, and crime novels.

“I read ‘As the Sycamore Grows’ in one sitting….It illustrates how all domestic violence cases are similar and how each one is totally unique. Ginger’s courage and strength, and her ultimate triumph, shine a light for other battered women seeking freedom from violence for themselves and their children.”—Carol Gundlach, Former Executive Director, Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence

“[This] book is going to help countless women out there, but it’s also helping me to reconnect to why I do this work after 16 years in the field and to reinvigorate my passion!”—Nicole Lesser, Former Executive Director, Georgia Coalition against Domestic Violence