Stacey Lannert - Redemption: A Story of Sisterhood, Survival, and Finding Freedom Behind Bars

STACEY LANNERT

I am forever in debt to Detective Tom Schulte for going against the grain and speaking out. Thank you.

C.H.A.M.P., Inc. (Canine Helpers Allow More Possibilities) changed my life, and I am grateful. Thank you, Janet Cole, Mary Ruth, Nola Ewers, and Dianne Peters for being first role models and now friends.

I could not have taken this journey without my coauthor Kristen Kemp. Thank you for helping put into words my triumphs and my nightmares. My soul is free because you found my voice. Thank you for gently nudging me to places I did not want to go and for the friendship that led me through the darkness.

I would also like to thank my family who have traveled the ravaged ocean of my life and are still onboard: Mom, John, Christy, my brother-in-law Brian, and my cousins Beka and Nicolette. Thank you for showing me the true meaning of familyfor being there no matter what. Christy and Brian, thank you for bringing my beautiful niece into this world and for sharing her with the rest of us.

Elliot Freeman is the man I choose to share my life with, and I cannot thank him enough for his gentleness, patience, and strength. Elliot, you are wonderful, and I truly love you.

While we can never choose our family, we can always choose our friends. The following people are the family of my heart:

Robyn and Ed Merschen: Thank you, Robyn, for your friendship. You kept me sane with our hundreds of phone calls that helped me stand strong. Thank you, Ed, for all the food visits and Scrabble games. I love you both.

Tom Wilson and his family: Thank you for standing beside me. You will always have a special place in my heart and in my life. I dont know who I would be without you.

Jim and Janine Gelker: Thank you for opening your hearts and family to me and for sharing the best dogs in the world, Fozzie and Maddie.

The Swederskas: Thank you for making room for one more.

Kristy Wolske: My newest friend who takes me shopping and is brutally honest about what looks good and what doesnt.

Shawn Fischer: Thank you for your time and help. Youre a great reader.

Chris Peanick: Thank you for being there for mealwayswith your quiet strength and total love.

Toni Sullivan: You helped me redefine my life, and I am grateful every day.

Bino and Rick: Thank you for just being you and sharing all that you have with me. I love you more than you will ever know.

Sabrina Kinsey: Thank you for being the sister God forgot to give me.

Tanya Goings: You will always be in my thoughts and in my heart. Your star burned bright, if not for long. Thank you for lighting up my life.

Shelley Fossel: You are the one person left behind, but you are never forgotten. I look forward to the time when you will join us soon for your new life. Hang in there, and I will be here when you come home.

I mustnt forget six special people who started out as supporters and have become friends. I would not be free without Chris Sitka, Graham McAllister, Jean Hensley Besner, Robert Hegadorn, Dr. David Camp, and Kristi Knotts. Your time and dedication will always be remembered and appreciated, but its your friendship that will be treasured.

I would also like to thank Rachel Cohn, who helped guide us down the publishing path and who put up with me during my first glass of champagne. Boy, those bubbles worked fast.

Thank you, Gina Kirkland and Carrie Campbell at Kirkland Productions, my lecture agents, for giving me the opportunity to enlighten college youths about the devastation abuse causes and how to spot it. Thank you for having faith in me.

Our editor, Julia Pastore, has been gracious, understanding, and wonderful to work with. Thank you for your patience and for helping me share my life in a way that I hope is healing and inspiring.

Dorian Karchmar: Thank you for believing in me and helping us to find the perfect home for Redemption.

To all of the people who offered understanding and support, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You helped give me strength when I did not have enough of my own.

This book is for everyone who has suffered or is still suffering. My greatest wish is that you find freedom through forgiveness, faith, and most of all, happiness. My transformation did not occur when I was alone. I had to open up and accept help to come alive again. By standing and speaking together, we can all become free.

My life has been difficult but it has been blessed. My greatest gift has been my faith, and I thank God for it every day.

KRISTEN KEMP

Writing this book was like taking a journey. I took a lot of people along with me. Many thanks go to Dorian Karchmar at William Morris, who believed in us from the first second. I am also grateful to Julia Pastore at Random House for her kindness and brilliance as she edited. Thanks to my friend and fellow author Rachel Cohn, who took so much time to listen and to make awesome things happen. Im grateful also for the unrelenting support of my mentors, Naomi Wolf, and Wende Jager-Hyman of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership. Thanks also go to Angel Williams and all of my friends at New York Sports Club in Montclair; I appreciated your daily words of encouragement. Through the most difficult moments in the writing process, my husband, Johan Svenson, showed only love and patience. I love you, I thank you, and I owe you. I thank my three children for their smiles and hugs.

And to Stacey: I finally understand that anything is possible because I met you. For the rest of my life, I will carry your light and your inspiration with me. I am forever changed by my steady, meaningful, and compassionate collaboration with you. You have all of my love and support as you go forward with your next amazing chapters.

STACEY LANNERT is a writer, speaker, and fitness instructor. In 2009 Stacey was released from prison where she served eighteen years for fatally shooting the man who raped her from age eight through eighteen. That man was her father. Stacey never lost her ability to love life and learn from it even though she was sentenced to life without parole. The governor of Missouri granted her clemency in 2009, and within six days, she walked out of the prison gates. Stacey had been granted her physical freedom; it was the ultimate act of forgiveness.

Though locked up, Stacey was already emotionally free. Through the power of love and forgiveness, she created a meaningful life for herself from behind bars. She helped troubled teens find strength to tell their stories of abuse through a program called Outreach. She even helped some of them prosecute their abusers. Stacey also trained therapy dogs for handicapped people through the nonprofit organization C.H.A.M.P. While making the world a better place, she was also focused on forgiving.

Filled with compassion, hope, humility, and even wit, Stacey travels the country to share her story with college students. Her topics of discussion include how to spot sexual and emotional abuse and what to do about it; the importance of speaking up, telling the truth, and never being ashamed of who you are; the power of hope, forgiveness, and helping others; and how the legal system deals with sexual abuse and women.

In May 2009, Stacey brought her message to 40 million people when she spoke for thirty minutes on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Stacey has also appeared on Nancy Grace, 20/20, Larry King Live, The MontelWilliams Show, and many other programs. She has created a popular, active, nonprofit organization and Web site called HealingSisters.org with a message to help other victims however she can. Stacey can share her story. She believes that no one is a victimno matter what shes been through. As we work on ourselves and work to heal the world, we can all become victors.