I Had a Secret for Seventeen Years: A Story of Redemption and Healing after Abortion

by Tori Shaw, Angela Forker (Foreword)

I Had A Secret for Seventeen Years is the redemptive life story of Tori Shaw, centered around her abortion as a teenager. She spent years covered by guilt and shame while enduring continual abandonment and rejection. Childhood experiences taught her to hide hardship, so she silently dealt with depression, fear, anxiety, self-loathing, and addictions. After hiding her dark secret for seventeen years, Tori shares her story with the world. A woman who once walked in fear and self-doubt is now willing to go wherever God wants her to go. Through Tori's story, God builds a ministry that helps abortion-minded women choose life for their babies and shares God's forgiveness and love with post-abortive women. I Had a Secret for Seventeen Years enables the reader to see a post-abortive woman come full circle and embrace the world of possibilities God makes available to those who are willing.

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2020

About the author

Tori married her high school sweetheart and homeschools her four beautiful children. She walks in complete freedom after her abortion because of the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Tori desires the same for others who have had a similar journey.

Reviews

[Sarah Stanfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The courage it took to share her story and use it to help others is nothing short of miraculous. As someone who has personally experienced healing through her amazing Not Forgotten Ministries, I can never express enough gratitude to her and to God.
Her book is a must read for anyone considering abortion, have had one, is the father in the situation, or even someone who has suffered a miscarriage.

[Janet Quante · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Had a Secret for Seventeen Years is one of the most raw and courageous memoirs I’ve read. Tori Shaw doesn’t just tell a story she opens her heart completely. Her honesty about abortion, guilt, shame, depression, and addiction is both heartbreaking and deeply moving. What touched me most was how she described living under the weight of a secret for so many years. The emotional isolation, fear of rejection, and silent suffering felt incredibly real. But this book is not just about pain it’s about redemption. Tori’s journey from self-loathing and fear to freedom and purpose shows the transformative power of God’s forgiveness. Watching her come full circle from hiding in shame to boldly helping other women choose life and find healing was powerful and inspiring. This book isn’t written with judgment. It’s written with compassion, grace, and truth. It reminds readers that no matter how long you’ve carried a burden, healing is possible.
A deeply emotional and faith-filled testimony of restoration. I highly recommend it to anyone who believes in second chances and the power of God’s love.

[Books Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must start with the fact, that I'm not a very religious person. This is important to mention because of the obvious fact that this is a Christian book and everything more or less revolves around God and Jesus. However, regardless of the strength of my fate, it would be foolish of me not to appreciate the mastery with which the book was written. Tori Shaw shares her experiences surrounding her abortion when she was only a teenager, a child. She goes over all of her feelings, experiences, and deep thoughts, pouring them on the pages.

Mrs. Shaw's story is of suffering and redemption, a story that can help many of the people, that go through the same struggles. I am fortunate enough to have not gone to hell and back, but this book definitely gave me some food for thought.

I highly recommend you to read it even if you're not a strong believer - it will change your view on the world and show you what the author went through and how she was able to defeat her demons.

Christian
BooksShelf Reviewer

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is hard for me to review and rate this because I am absolutely not the target audience for this book. It was a Christian book, and I'm not a Christian. The author's constant references to Jesus and Christian rhetoric and her attribution of every good thing in her life to God, and her constant bragging about answering prayer- it just drove me up a wall, and I almost didn't finish it.

But I don't want to give it a bad review on that account. I knew I was picking up a religious book when I started it. I was curious about her post-abortion journey, and she does a very compelling job of telling her story. She recalls her story in very compelling and powerful language and doesn't hold back about her experiences. She writes with a great deal of honesty and integrity.

She has a very effective writing style and a good way of describing things that put you right there with her. It was a powerful book, and I did like it once I could look past the constant religious rhetoric.

I was really torn and decided to give it three stars. And explain in this review why that was maybe a little unfair.

one thing for certain- this is not a book that can appeal to non-religious people. I recommend it only to people who are already very religious.