Praise for
As The Sycamore Grows

Rarely have I heard of a true life book where even the “bad guys” are more than open to discussing and sharing portions of the story. This is just such a book – a very unusual book telling the story of abuse.. from the point of the abused AND the abuser. Not only that, but Jennie goes far and above the usual storytelling, digging into the history of the involved individuals to see how they were raised and how that affected their actions as adults. A completely comprehensive look at the why’s and how’s of an abusive marriage.

Warning up front… while it has an ending that can lead to hope for other abused women, this book will spend a good part of it’s pages making you cringe. The casual, yet intensely detailed descriptions of what Ginger went through – both from Mike’s point of view and her own – are chilling.

The fact that the way Ginger and Mike were both raised by their own parents must be taken into account when learning of their actions. It leads you to become so much more introspective of how even the little ways we act with our children can affect them in later years.

You will stand up and cheer when Ginger finally begins to think of breaking free from the nearly prison-like existence she endured for so many years. You’ll read open mouthed when Mike describes in a matter of fact manner the way she was treated by him.

This is an important book in that it not only tells a story of abuse and the rising above it, but gives information on what to do and what actions to take to overcome this type of situation, should you be in it.

In the end, when Ginger sits in a coffee shop in a business suit with her degree behind her, taking on the work that will help countless other women in similar situations as she had…………you can only cheer.

Dew on the Kudzu

“Jennie Helderman has taken a heart-breaking issue and boiled it down to human beings, of flesh and blood and lost days and fearful nights. It opens the door on a too-common human story, and closes you in with it.”

Rick Bragg, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Most They Ever Had, All Over But the Shouting, Ava’s Man, and The Prince of Frogtown.

Price:16.95

“Rarely has a story of a woman’s courageous fight for freedom been told in such an eloquent and moving way. And, even more unusual, we get an open view into the twisted mentality of a vicious man who was able, like so many abusers, to convince the outside world that he was normal. A hard book to put down.”

Lundy Bancroft, an authority on abuse and especially on abusive men and author of “Why Does He Do That?” and co-author of “Should I Stay or Should I Go”

“This is a page turner! A powerful portrayal of mind control!

Patricia Evans, author of Controlling People

“This story grabs hold of your heart and squeezes it dry. It is a tale so touching, so emotionally overwhelming, women will cringe and thank God they never had to walk in Ginger’s shoes, and men will wish they could have met Ginger’s husband in a dark alley. I applaud author Jennie Helderman’s gift for writing, I marvel at Ginger’s courage for sharing it.”

–Jedwin Smith, twice-nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting; author of Our Brother’s Keepers, Reader’s Digest Book of the Year, and Fatal Treasure, a nonfiction soon-to-be a movie.

“With the careful eye of a journalist and the committed heart of a creative writer, Helderman provides witness to the kind of domestic violence and its after-effects that too many women suffer without the ability to express its tragedy. As the Sycamore Grows becomes a fully realized and powerful account as Helderman twines her voice with that of Ginger, an abuse survivor. Such a story demands that it be told loud and clear, which is just what Helderman does.”

—Sue William Silverman: Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You and Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir.

“Jennie Miller Helderman’s “As the Sycamore Grows” is an incredibly powerful and sobering true account of obedience, poverty and isolation escalating in mounting abuse and violence. Her chance encounter with Ginger McNeil, whom she met to write an assignment about poverty, lead her to write one of the most chilling and thoughtful books I’ve read in a long time. One of the most amazing facets of the book was the contributions from both Ginger and her ex-husband, Mike. Having heard both sides of the story made the abuse sound even more distressing, if that was indeed even possible.”

–Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views

Jennie Helderman’s thoroughly documented book proves the cycle of domestic violence can be broken, hope exits for the batterer and the abused, and the written word has the power to heal. May the life-affirming message in as the Sycamore grows find its way to the wounded people searching for answers caused by mental and physical assaults perpetrated against them or within their families.

— Retired Lieutenant L.D. Hesse #979, Dekalb County Police Department, Dekalb County, Georgia

“I finished your book last night. Wow — this is a story that will stick with me… I was right there, watching their lives unfold…chilling yet heartwarming.”

–Jenny Hoover, editor of national alumnae magazine.

“As the Sycamore Grows” is the true story of immense courage. This story reveals the courage of a woman to live the life facing terror and heartbreak; also the courage of author Jennie Helderman to recount this dramatic and heart-wrenching narrative from both sides.

Complete with court documents, interviews from Ginger, and incredibly from husband Mike, this story reveals the words of the man who kept his wife and children secluded in a primitive mountain cabin, living in fear of his temper and the gun strapped at his side. This work is a peek not only into the lives of Ginger and Mike, but a compassionate chronicle of two families mired in patterns of dysfunction.

This straightforward account allows the reader to reach his or her own conclusions as to the cause and perpetuation of abuse: troubled family histories, religious fanaticism, emotional instability, or some combination of all three. More than anything this book is a testimony to other women not only of the warning signs of abuse, but also the deep power of the human spirit to overcome and escape. It is a great triumph of hope and evidence of Ginger’s resilience to remake her life, overcome her past, and create a future for herself and her sons. You won’t be able to put this unique book down, even if it means finishing it at 4am in the morning…like I did.”

–Susannah Bales, bookseller at Eagle Eye Book Store, Decatur, GA

Published in Georgia Advocate E-News

GA Collation Against Domestic Violence is pleased to announce a recently released book that can be checked out from our lending library entitled As the Sycamore Grows. The book is about a rural survivor’s escape from domestic violence and is written by Jennie Miller Helderman.  After attending the book signing, GCADV Executive Director Nicole Lesser, who is usually hesitant to watch or read about domestic violence outside of work as a way to practice self-care explained, “I not only wanted to read it but couldn’t wait to get home to start. Your book is going to help countless women out there, but it’s also helping me to reconnect to why I do this work after 16 years in the field and to reinvigorate my passion!”