About The Book
Out of pain comes strength.
Out of brokenness comes healing.
Out of heartbreak comes transformation.
Those who have experienced abortion often feel alone, empty and ashamed. Deserted by partners, condemned by the church, they need a safe place to recover from the pain and confusion.
But they are not alone—many women have an abortion story. They can share their journey on this difficult road with others who can support and empathize.
In Transforming Your Story: A Path to Healing after Abortion, author Wendy Giancola will guide you—whether you are working individually or in a group—giving hope as you follow the path that leads to wholeness. For group leaders, a facilitator’s companion is available as a free download from this and the publisher’s website.
Transforming Your Story includes spiritual tools for navigating the journey:
- Biblical stories of restoration as a template to explore your story
- Practical suggestions for coping with anger, depression, and shame
- Prayers that open the soul to God
- Journal prompts to unburden the heart
- Symbolic actions to engage body and mind
- Personal experiences of women who have found healing
This book provides a road map for travel from a place of trouble to one of hope and transformation.
Transforming Your Story was written in association with the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center (CHPC). Click here to learn more about the CHPC.
Meet The Author
Wendy Giancola is the director of Post Abortion Transformation Healing (PATH) at the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center in Washington, DC. Since 2010, Wendy has walked with many women, individually or in groups, on their paths to healing, and she has been blessed to continue as a mentor to some of these women. Wendy is also privileged to serve with and direct a team of volunteers who serve within the PATH ministry. Additionally, she is a talented speaker and educator in public and non-profit settings. Wendy holds a master’s degree in family studies from Kent State University and has received additional training from Stephen Ministry and the Lay Counseling Institute. Wendy marvels at how God has transformed her wounded story into a story of His grace and restoration. She lives in northern Virginia with her incredibly supportive husband, Nick. Wendy’s speaking topics: Abortion education, Soul ties, Living with Intentionality, Running with Purpose and Facilitating an abortion recovery group
Reviews
Transforming Your Story is a powerful, wonderfully written, and engaging tool for post-abortive women. Within the pages of this guide, God reveals wounds and healing begins. Although abortion is not the beginning of our stories, it is a chapter that God can redeem, and this guide offers a clear path for Him to work. Each chapter’s real-life encouraging stories and activities help the reader apply the truth of the lesson and not feel alone in the journey. The story format makes the guide relatable and easy to understand, and its great value comes from the fact that it was written by someone who has “been there, done that.” The author’s love for God and His transforming power are evident on every page. God will give “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:3) as readers use this tool to shed the layers of pain and delve deep into His grace, love, and forgiveness.
Wendy Giancola has written a beautiful book. She models true vulnerability, pouring her heart and soul into finding just the right words to help the reader connect with healing, peace, and reconciliation after an abortion. Her garden analogy and the personal stories throughout make this a very user-friendly book. As women, we often struggle after an abortion. Transforming Your Story helps us take that painful choice and integrate it into who we are now so that it no longer controls us
Broken and feeling ashamed because of an abortion, I accepted an invitation to participate with sisters in Christ in a post-abortion care group. As I read to surrender my brokenness and receive healing, this book provided me with tangible tools—in most cases Scripture—that exposed my sin, changed my perspective, and transformed my heart. I especially liked that the author uses stories from post-abortive women, which made the book very personal and relatable.
This book allowed me to walk through each step of the healing and grieving process in exactly the right order that I needed. The continual reference to Scripture reminded me time and again of God's comforting hand throughout the process, and the stories from other women who shared similar experiences to my own revealed to me that I was not alone in my journey of accepting and giving forgiveness.
When I picked up "Transforming Your Story: A Path to Healing after Abortion," I was seeking healing and peace related to my abortion experience and this book provided those things and so much more. Each chapter shares real testimonies, applicable Bible stories and activities that aid in the process of forgiving and illustrate that you are not alone in this journey. My life is forever changed from reading and doing the exercises in this book; I recommend this book with love.