In this affecting debut, Mattison, an organizational leadership instructor, transforms her traumatic life experiences into hopeful life lessons for women trying to break free from unhealthy relationships and behaviors. Calling her six-step method the THREAD system, she invites readers to think of the outcome they want to achieve, harvest lessons learned, release fear and break painful patterns, enlist allies, adopt new mindsets, and dream of a new self and design a more joyful life. Mattison writes of being sexually abused by family members and strangers, and sexually and spiritually abused by a faith leader; suffering through a difficult, failed marriage; and nearly dying after a suicide attempt. Each chapter contains a biblical lesson, a lesson from Mattison’s own life, and a writing prompt for self-reflection for the reader. Her encouraging tone (“If you’re reading this book, you are one relentless, fearless, and courageous soul; don’t let anyone tell you differently”) will help dispirited women win back their power. While the nonreligious might be put off by the overtly religious tone, Mattison’s lessons amount to sensible advice anyone can apply. (Self-published)