Little Girl Lost: One Women's Journey Beyond Rape

By Leisha Joseph and Deborah Bruner Mendenhall

Book Overview

"All of my Bible heroes are survivors. I guess all of the people I have met in my life and I consider to be my heroes are survivors...This book is the story of a survivor. It is the story of a remarkable young woman who did not allow herself to be a victim but became a survivor. She did not look for social issues or society to blame but turned her violation and hurt into something positive, not only for her but for all of the people in her life. This is a story of God's love and grace and a lesson of life...Little Girl Lost is her story's title but the story of her life should be called 'Little Girl Triumphant.'"
--From the Foreword by Nicky Cruz

The events of Leisha Joseph's life are sensational, but the deeper story lies in her relationship to God, and in what she can now teach others who suffer from the fear and hurt that result from violence and trauma.

As the treasured only daughter of an upper-middle-class family, Leisha, as well as her brothers, enjoyed a happy childhood. When she was eight years old, all this changed abruptly with the death of her father. The strain on her mother manifested itself in wild behavior. In between frequent stays in private mental hospitals, she brought home a string of boyfriends, some of whom preferred children and made their way to Leisha's bed. After trying to burn down the house and chasing Leisha with a kitchen knife, her mother was confined to the state mental hospital. While friends and family lent a hand, it was largely up to Leisha and her brothers to keep the family intact.

Sadly, Leisha experienced the pain of isolation because of her family situation. She found God as a teenager, but that comfort did not last long. Leisha became disillusioned with Christianity and began taking drugs until an overdose had her on her knees, promising to serve God all her life if He saved her. She was sober in an instant, and has kept her promise.

Just when she had managed to turn her life around and was a finalist in the Miss Teen USA pageant, recently graduated with honors from high school, and engaged to marry a godly young man, Leisha experienced an attack at the hands of a serial rapist. Yet God intervened once more, giving her the words that would save her life and would eventually cause her attacker to confess in court. Even when he escaped and came after her, as he had threatened to do, Leisha refused to let fear dominate her life. She rejected the advice of the Witness Protection Program, instead relying on God's saving hands.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385492405
• ISBN13: 9780385492409
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Waterbrook Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Leisha Joseph, one of my favorite Authors

My review is based on, not only the book, but on real life events that me and her have faced together. Hi, im the stepdaughter of Leisha Joseph. I'm not only giving the book 5 stars because she's my stepmom but, because i have read the book, and it seems, even to a 13 year old like myself, interesting. I think she deserves the 5 stars for, all the hard work she's ever done in her life. Writing a book, writing tons of childrens books like her new Christmas one that just came out. Basically, going on with her life no matter what challenges lie ahead of her, Leisha, is the most loving person i have ever met.

Love for God

Leisha, I went to convention this past week in Knoxville, Tennessee and on Saturday night when you spoke, it was such a wonderful yet scary story. I was touched by how strong you are. God has been there for you a lot and I hope that if I am ever in a situation like that, I will have the Faith to do what you've done. Thanks for speaking to us.

Inspiring

I was sitting at my aunts house when I seen this book and I grabbed it and read the short paragraph about the book and just that was enough for me to see I would love this book! So I asked my aunt to borrow it and brought it home and started reading it! I never wanted to put it down cause it always brought interest! I read the whole story and it inspired and amazed me! Never have I seen one person have so much faith in God! I would love to meet her and tell her my thoughts!

A helpful book to help those whom have been through rape

I read Leisha's book and it helped me to deal with some of the things that I had gone through on a personal level. I too came from a "Dysfunctional Family" I can relate because we have similar backgrounds even though our paths in life are different. At the time I first recalled a flash back and memories came back. There was not too many resources out there to read and to know that I wasn't alone.It is very difficult to deal with depression and flashbacks but Leisha's book assures you that through her spoken testamony that God was there. It was her faith in God that inspires you. Some of us were not raised in christian homes and it shows that God truly loves us through his grace. Rape can happen any where at any time and God does see all. He is a just and loving God despite what happens. Leisha's book has helped me to open up more to others and it is truly a blessing to know that someone else understands your hurt.When I was reaching out for help I found comfort when reading this book because there is so little on this subject that the church does not talk about. We need to talk about a topic that has wounded so many people out there. If you are a pastor, preacher, evangelist, lay person, councilor, rape victim or even a person who has never been through what she experienced please read this book! It will become a help resource that you can use to help those whom you love whom are rape survivors.

Interesting, inspirational and biblically based...

I really thought this book would be another book depicting the victim of the rape as "the poor victim whom we should all feel so sorry for." However, while reading it I never once got that impression. The story focused more on what God did for her and how He used everything she had gone through to change her life and bring her family closer together. What really caught my attention was not the rape incident itself, but what she was thinking during the event. It showed that through Leisha's previous experiences God had already prepared her for what happened to her that day. True enough, rape is a cruel thing and difficult to deal with for anyone. However, the real hope is in God in any case and God is where the main focus was for me after reading this book. JW