“Invisible Child”
Author Biography
Phyllis Barnes Lawlor
Author of “Invisible Child” - a memoir of her childhood living with a schizophrenic mother.
Born in a suburb of Montreal, Phyllis, along with her siblings, spent much of their childhood in and out of foster homes and orphanages. They moved twenty-eight times before Phyllis was ten years old and often the family was separated for months at a time.
Phyllis, with her husband of twenty-five years, Wayne, now live in Chatham, Ontario. She is a Kinship Grandmother to her three special needs grandchildren with ages ranging from twelve to three years. She works in customer service with a local company using her bilingual skills of both French and English.
Her life is very full but she still finds time for charity work. For two years, Phyllis volunteered in a women's shelter. She moved on to become a Victims Service Officer, where she helps people and families dealing with domestic abuse both on the telephone and face to face.
She is also deeply involved with her local church and founded the non profit group 'God's Kids of Chatham-Kent'. It is in the early stages, but the goal is to create a 24/7 open house with a warm atmosphere and home cooking where teens and young adults can come and find a safe haven to talk and receive counselling. If you would like to find out more about that group you can find their page at http://gods-kids.blogspot.ca/
Phyllis was saved at the age of 20, and since then she has had the desire to help and tell her story. Before that, it was too painful and from the years of healing, she is much stronger. In August 2012. she appeared on the 700 Club Show. This was the start of her devotion to open up and talk candidly about her experiences and life, however, this just scratches the surface of her story and she feels there is much more that needs to be said.
Her book, “Invisible Child” depicts the abuse she endured during her childhood and adolescence and the consequences of that upbringing, God saved her from falling down the same route that so many other children will and have followed after such a traumatic upbringing. Through sheer determination, Phyllis has been able to break the cycle. She even found it in her heart to forgive her mother, even after the years of torment, and they managed to create a loving relationship before her mother died.
Using her experiences, and with the help and love of her family and God, Phyllis is keen to give her empathy and help others. She hopes that one day her words will touch other victims and help them to realise that this is not their burden to carry. She wants to give them the knowledge that they are beautiful and special. To help them see through the scars to the diamond they are underneath.
Because of her desire to mentor, she is keen to meet any requirements necessary to promote her story and reach out to as many people as possible. Her passion for helping others is apparent as soon as you meet her. She hopes the proceeds of the book sales will give her the freedom to dedicate more time to reaching her goal to counsel those who have a suffered similar life.
