Leave the Light On: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-Discovery

by Jennifer Storm

'Today I choose the light.'

Jennifer Storm's first memoir, Blackout Girl: Growing Up and Drying Out in America, tells the haunting story of her downward spiral into addiction that began when she was raped at twelve years old. She remained on a dangerous, self-destructive path for ten dark years, until one day she awoke in the hospital after attempting to commit suicide and realized she needed help.

Now, Leave the Light On: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-Discovery offers a deeper look into Jennifer's inspiring story of survival and transformation. With fearless honesty, she chronicles her journey as she embarked upon a new life in recovery, finally facing her traumatic past, her buried emotions, and her long-hidden truth about her sexuality. A unique blend of addiction recovery and coming-out story, this book provides a positive, encouraging example for those who are facing similar adversities. Jennifer holds nothing back in this courageous and insightful memoir.

Genres: Memoir, Addiction, Mental Health

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2010

About the author

Survivor. Author. Advocate. Victim’s Rights Expert. Having worked many high profile cases including helping victims of; Jerry Sandusky, Bill Cosby, Catholic Clergy victims and thousands of other cases in her twenty year long career as a victim advocate, Jennifer Storm is often times the first call media make when stories break.

Governor Tom Wolf recently re-appointed Mrs. Storm for a 2nd six year term as the Victim Advocate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvnaia in December 2019. Governor Tom Corbett had previously nominated her as Commonwealth Victim Advocate on Nov. 8, 2013, and she was unanimously confirmed by the state Senate on Dec. 10, 2013. As Victim Advocate, she is responsible for representing the rights and interests of crime victims within the Commonwealth. She is the President Elect of the National Crime Victim Law Institute in Portland Oregon.

She was born and raised near Allentown, PA and attended Northampton High School. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Services and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management from The University of Phoenix. She studied Conflict Resolution and Dispute Management at The ILR School of Cornell University.

Her media appearances are vast, and include frequent appearances on all major networks including, ABC, FOX, NBC, NPR, CBS and PBS as the county spokesperson for victims rights. She has appeared on The Today Show, ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, CBS 48 Hours Live to Tell program and E! News online. In 2002, Mrs. Storm also publicly debated Oliver North live on his syndicated talk show Common Sense with Oliver North regarding LGBTQ rights.

She has been profiled or appeared in the following publications; The New York Times, People Magazine, Business Week, The Washington Post, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Marie Claire Magazine, Curve Magazine, The Advocate, Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, WE Magazine, Women Magazine and many more.

Mrs. Storm has traveled the country giving keynotes, lectures, workshops, and panel discussions regarding victims’ rights, LGBT rights, addiction and recovery, and civil rights.

Jennifer lives at home in Camp Hill PA with her wife, they are foster parents and adoptive parents of a son.

Mrs. Storm is very comfortable giving interviews, both taped and live. Jennifer is the author of four critically acclaimed books on addiction, recovery and victimization. Echoes of Penn State: Facing Sexual Trauma, Picking Up the Pieces Without Picking Up: A Guidebook Through Victimization for People in Recovery, Leave the Light On: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-Discovery and Blackout Girl: Growing Up and Drying Out in America. She is available for all speaking engagements, including keynote presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and book signings.

Jennifer is currently filming a documentary based on her first memoir, Blackout Girl.

If you are interesting in booking Mrs. Storm for presentations, workshops or anything related to her books or film please visit this page to learn more.

If you are interesting in speaking with Mrs. Storm in her role as Victim Advocate, please contact her assistant at rebressler@pa.gov.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a companion book to Blackout Girl, Leave the Light On is equally powerful and well written. Using brief chapters, Storm relates her story of post-recovery life in a relaxed prose that feels more like an old friend talking with you than an author relating the facts of her life. This casual tone does not take away from the poignant moments that helped define Storm's life and put her on a path to becoming a functioning human being. Sometimes sad, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and sometimes frightening, the story is one that is easy to relate to because the narration is so personable and straightforward. A solid choice for young adults and adults. Reading Blackout Girl first is not a must, but is helpful to better understand the long road the author has taken.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book written by the Jennifer Storm. I have to say that I enjoyed, i am proud of Jennifer for being able to get her life together and to help others. It was an inspirational read. I wish i could apply this to my own addiction of over eating, I haven't been able to do it yet, but I am trying to control teh eating again. Thanks for the great read Jennifer.

[Tami Urbanek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! I used this book for one of my reading classes at a Community College. Excellent and honest.

[Jane Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

[Kristy Pavlichko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have wanted to read this book since September of 2012 when Jennifer Storm visited my college campus to talk to the incoming freshman class about sexual assault, rape, and consent. This was a very impressionable stage of my life because weeks prior to my first semester of college, I had a similar experience to Jennifer’s. I had been in a dark place when she came to speak and her words alone turned everything around for me. To read them in this book again years later, it is incredible. When people experience drug addiction, sexual assault, and tragedy but still have the strength to not only move forward but to advocate for those still struggling, that’s absolutely admirable and amazing to me. The book goes into depth about her addiction and her experience in the 12 step program and how she turned her life around and eventually attended PSU and became an advocate and eventually the executive director of the victim witness assistance program. If you have experienced sexual assault, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, or tragedy, this is a great read.

I found myself at times clutching myself because it was as if I had spoken the words myself. The experiences all too familiar and real. It reminded me of my dark place. A time when I wanted to leave the light on. Times where intimacy aren’t intimate because of PTSD. “The violence perpetrated onto our skin has sunk in so deep that it permeates every pore, preventing us from really soaking in fully any joyful or innocent sexual experiences. The trauma resurfaces in our minds and spirits with each touch. Our skin has memory like foam, and we reshape into the curdled mass of nerves and fear we are on the night we were violated. It is why on most nights I still leave the light on, because the dark scares me.”

An incredible account of her story. I cannot wait to read her other books.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book when I was looking in the nonfiction biography section of the library and it looked like something that would be interesting to read and so I first read a few pages of it and I decided to check it out and read it. The title of the book “leave the light on” explains a lot about what its about when you start reading. Its a memoir written by Jennifer Storm. She had a point in her life where she started struggling with drinking too much alcohol and doing too many drugs because she can't get out of the dark. She decided to get treatment so she could go towards the light. The purpose of this book I think was to show people how far she's come after treatment. And the people that are going through the same thing possibly might go seek help to have a big change in their life just like Jennifer. It gives a sense of hope and peace and that even if you're in the dark you can get yourself back into the light if you take that next step to getting help. The typical audience would be someone that is interested in real stories about something terrible happening and in the end being able to overcome it. I also think someone with the same problems that Jennifer faces because they might not know how to handle a certain situation and this book might inspire them. At a very young age she was raped and started to go down the wrong path and started to do drugs and alcohol on a daily bases to make the pain that she was feeling go away. Her mother died when Jennifer was very young and she had a hard time telling people about it so she never really told people about it. Recovery helped her talk about her feelings a lot more and it helped her. While still in recovery she gets involved in the NALGAP a society for addiction that helps people who like the opposite gender. Jennifer starts to realize she isn't the typical girl that likes men but she likes women and she tells her parents when she goes home for thanksgiving. Her parents were happy and they accepted her no matter what because she is there daughter and Jennifer has nothing to hide anymore and it makes the recovery so much easier for her and her family. The message of this book is that no matter what might have happened in your life or if you have something you are embarrassed of you shouldn't be afraid to ask for help or tell people your secret because once its off your shoulders you will feel better. If they don’t accept the real you then they aren't worth the time anyways. Always focus on what's best for you and the people that matter most in your life. I might recommend this book but it is kind of a darker book that some people might not like but by the end there's so much hope for the future and Jennifer has a good way of showing it.

[Mary-Jo Mullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Applaud Jen for having the guts to put it all out there. But, a little too personal for me....

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It goes over a young women trying to find herself as she is trying to recover from a life of drugs & alcohol in recovery.