Reclamation: Coming Back To The Girl Who Got Shut Down

Have you ever lived a life that worked, on paper, and still felt like you were only halfway in the room? That is where Lena Fein spent most of her life. Not broken. Not miserable. Just partially there, ever since a moment at seven years old when the safest place she had, her own diary, got read out loud and used against her. Lena did everything right after that. School, a career in engineering, a family, a persona that held. And underneath it, a part of her stayed folded up and quiet for over forty years, until her mother was dying of cancer and Lena looked into her eyes one last time and saw something she had been waiting her whole life to see. That moment did not fix anything overnight. But it cracked something open, and Lena spent the years after slowly, gently claiming back the pieces of herself she had given up on. Her voice. Her rhythm. Her breath. Her story, eventually written down and shared with the world in her memoir, Shattering the Mirror. This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered if the parts of themselves they buried a long time ago are still in there somewhere, waiting. They usually are. What You'll Hear The diary moment that taught a seven-year-old to hide her heart A childhood accident that left Lena unable to fully breathe for decades What she saw in her mother's eyes in the final days of her life How she slowly reclaimed dancing, singing, and writing as an adult Why she finally found the courage to publish her memoir What it means to find compassion for a parent who never had the tools Guest Bio Lena Fein lives in San Francisco, the city of her birth. After receiving a master’s degree in engineering from UC Berkeley, she enjoyed a successful career in high tech and founded a non-profit that funded health and education projects in at-risk communities around the globe. Now retired, Lena enjoys the arts in all their forms, including painting, singing, dancing, and writing. Currently, Lena is often seen taking long walks by the bay and hugging her grandchildren. Her memoir, "Shattering the Mirror," is about her quest to confront her life and see through the distortions of her traumatic childhood. Now in her late sixties, Lena lives with more freedom, clarity, and love than she ever imagined. The book is really about the truth that healing is possible at any age — and that wholeness is priceless. Lena's book and links: shatteringthemirror.com Listen and follow: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/s5e270 Follow the show: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/follow Subscribe to the newsletter: https://thelifeshiftpodcast.beehiiv.com/ --- mother wound, childhood shame, deathbed forgiveness, reclaiming your voice, emotional numbness, generational trauma, finding wholeness, late life awakening, memoir writing, healing after loss Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices