TELLING

Imagine being told by your father over and over again that you're a moron.

Imagine loving to draw and being told you're not a real artist. And imagine

your father suggesting that he should have been your first lover. Celia Hirsch

heard all this and more before she turned 18, and she's now telling her story

with emotional detail and psychological insight. Discovering that denial could

have fractured her life forever, Hirsch believes the power of her will to survive

is what saved her.

Hirsch's difficult childhood was further complicated by her parents being

Holocaust survivors. Despite this flawed parenting, Hirsch went on to become

an accomplished artist, an entrepreneur several times over, a wife and a mother

with a healthy and loving family. But it wasn't until she sat down to tell her

story that she realized how she did it. Her grinding and relentless sense that

something was wrong drove her to face her monsters, break through barriers,

and reconstruct her past. By sharing her story, she hopes others will find the

courage inherent in all of us.