Delighted to welcome Penny Lane to the blog this week, here to chat about her memoir, Redeemed
Author Name: Penny Lane (Yes, my real name but I had to marry someone for the Lane part, but he’s cute and British so it works.)
Book Title: Redeemed, A Memoir of a Stolen Childhood
Book Genre: Memoir, women’s issues, Coming of Age, Survival, Strong-women
Release Date: June 25th 2025
Publisher: She Writes Press
Welcome, Penny! Please tell us a bit about your book.
My book is a rise-from-the-ashes hero’s story of overcoming abuse, trauma, and unbearable odds; of being waylaid by both family and religion’s promise of love, and harnessing the resilience to find my way home, Redeemed is a harrowing story of survival; a deeply poignant narrative explores learning to give yourself what others have denied you.
What drew you to write a memoir about this experience? What made you want to tell this particular story? What do you hope readers will gain or learn from reading about your experience?
I often thought about writing a book about my traumatic childhood because it was so unbelievable to me that it was happening and no one stopped it. Books were how I related to the world. Books were friends I could trust to be dependable as people weren’t. As I grew up and people started hearing my story, they told me I had to write a book about it. Then one day, a life coach called me out on it, I knew it was time. I think I had to write it. Almost like a “calling”.
I want people to stop hiding their childhood trauma, whatever it is, big or small, so that they can find release and healing, and know that they can overcome the shame that trauma brings at any age. That self-determination – deciding what’s true about you and who you are- instead of believing other peoples’ narratives, or old beliefs, is a very powerful thing. It strengthens you. Because if you are hiding, or are ashamed, it makes you less-than. You are not your whole self. You are not truly free, free to be fully happy, and present.
What was your research process like for Redeemed?
Since it’s my story, most of it was already in my head or my heart. What I did to bring the stories out was to create a timeline and mind maps to remind myself of things, people and places I had forgotten, and then I used Facebook groups from my old neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens to find names of pubs, shops, and parks whose name or address I could not remember. It was an amazing, healing experience. I even found people who knew my first boyfriend from 1976, his parents, where he lived, and sadly, when he died. I had been looking for him for years, to thank him for being so good to me. Now I could mourn him, and say the Mourner’s Kaddish for him, the Jewish prayer for the dead.
From your perspective, what’s the hardest thing about writing and researching? And what do you love most about it?
The hardest thing was trying to find the right words to express my painful memories and the depth of my angst in a way that a reader could take without being put off and relate to at the same time. I am not sure I accomplished it. Maggie Smith did it beautifully in You Could Make This Place Beautiful, which I read after I finished my memoir. She is amazing.
What I love the most was working with my editor who taught me so much about creating tension and drama and story-arc. I am so proud of the finished book. It’s much better than I could have done on my own.
What’s capturing your imagination these days outside of reading and writing?
I love to travel, both abroad and on road trips. I’ve recently traveled to Colombia, to Mellegin, Bogota and the Amazon, and to Ozxaca, Mexico. I love learning how people are making modern day life work in ancient cities, as well as in Austin, Texas, where an old decommissioned municipal airport had been transformed into multi-use living/work/recreation space, with plans for tiny homes for unhoused people.
When I am not traveling I work with underserved immigrant communities; bagging food at a food pantry in the Latin neighborhood, teaching immigrant kindergarten children to read as a literacy aid, and helping first-gen college graduates get jobs in corporate America and update their LinkedIn profiles. If English is not your first language, or you have no role models, it’s intimidating to break that barrier. And I try to spend as much time with my nineteen year old son as I can. You never know when that will be over!
Any new writing projects in the works?
I am trying to figure out what to do once my book tour is over. I’m open to suggestions.
What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?
I loved The Women by Kristin Hannah because I learned so much about the Vietnam War that I did not know about, and I respect her so much for putting so much time and research into the book. I think she waited and researched it for many years before sitting down to write it. It’s an incredible story of strong, resilient women that we as a country ignored. I can’t recommend it enough.
Where can readers find you?
Thank you for asking. They can find out a lot about me on my website, including events and book readings. www.pennylanewriter.com, and my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.
Thank you, Penny! Redeemed is OUT NOW.
Redeemed
Snatched from her family at 4 years old, childhood abuse and adult cult survivor shares story
Mill Valley, California – Penny’s life was like a fairy tale–the terrible kind. Penny Lane was four years old when she was snatched from her home. The strange man’s foreign accent was as rough as his kisses; her beloved Aunt Charlotte introduced him as Penny’s father. As the girl and her suitcase were bundled into a car, Aunt Charlotte revealed a horrifying truth: Penny’s mother died when she was a baby, and her Hungarian father had suddenly claimed her. Her illusion of family shattered, from that moment Penny’s uprooted life became an exercise in survival.
The abuse started quickly: Her new stepmother beat her bloody for eating a slice of bread without asking, beat her for lies she never told, beat her without excuse. As she grew into a young adult, Penny’s boyfriend introduced her to church. But instead of finding solace, she was sucked into a too-familiar cycle of manipulation as the charismatic leaders exerted cult-like control. After being pressured into marriage and enduring years of forced confessions, Salem-style accusations, secretive disciplinary actions, and ostracization, Penny reaches her breaking point. Could she leave the church and her husband–and confront her abusers–and finally navigate life on her own terms?
A harrowing story of survival, this deeply poignant narrative explores learning to give yourself what others have denied you.
Author bio:
Penny Lane is a writer, wife and mother with an insatiable passion for life and books. Originally from Jackson Heights, Queens, she loves being outdoors-cycling, hiking, traveling, and connecting to, and inspiring people. She has a BS in business and management from the University of Phoenix and an MA in industrial/organizational psychology from Golden Gate University. In her spare time, she helps underserved youth learn to read, apply to college, and find jobs once they graduate, and in food pantries and other non-profits near her home in Mill Valley, California. Find out more at her website here.