“Hey baby it’s a mean ol’ world…
‘Gotta keep your feet on the ground…
‘Gotta have a heart like Jesus…
When the devil come to knock you down…
Trust what’s inside you…
And head’s up for the wrecking ball…
Head’s up for the wrecking ball!”
(Singer-Songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman)
When the trees in your personal forest are so thick with dysfunction and terror… When a propped window held open by a screwdriver is the difference between life and death… When your world is surrounded by constant death threats and acts of violence… What can you do?
Susan Murphy, the “little girl lost” took charge of the situation to rescue her mother. Little did she know at her tender age… in the process of her personal nightmare she would grow up to build a legacy saving thousands of other victims in the grip of intimate partner and family violence for years to come…
To the outside world, hers was the happy home of a decorated police officer. In reality, Susan took on the protector role to shield her mother as best she could… ending in the ultimate acts of murder and suicide committed by her cop monster-father.
Navigating such a childhood consisted of making deals with God in between questioning his existence while others chose to ignore.
“Holding My Hand Through Hell” is so much more than just one women’s story of domestic violence. It is the epitome of hope, courage, strength and survival against all odds. “The Hell book” is a journey like no other, as told in riveting detail through the words of a child…turned woman.
Like a mismatched tapestry, there is a richness and simplicity in her tale… But, evil is always in the shadows.
This book is replete with examples of “survival of the fittest” overcoming terror for yet another instance…until the next time, keeping us on “high alert” from the first to the last page… The devastation is palpable, as Susan keeps moving forward regardless of the cost.
As the ultimate survivor, Susan takes her readers into the most intimate places of her existence. As an adult, she does her best to seek stability and sanity as a “regular member of society.” However, the house of horrors always lives within, as she finds comfort and love…in “all the wrong places”, continuing to suffer incredible losses along her path.
As an author, Murphy-Milano is masterful in painting a picture with great depth, emotion and vulnerability. The reader, is literally transformed, viscerally shaken and forever changed… trying to fathom how the unbelievable events are indeed true… but they are…. Everyone who reads “Holding My Hand Through Hell” will come away with their own personal indelible message- guaranteed!
Susan Murphy Milano is a one of a kind role model for victims of violent crime. Her greatest achievement – her own survival… couched in the painful knowledge that she was unable to save her mother in the end… in spite of Herculean efforts. She survived and taught the masses how to survive…and come out alive…in an arena where even angels fear to tread.
To learn more about Susan Murphy Milano and her work, please visit the following sites:
- Paperback: 286 pages
- Publisher: Ice Cube Press
- ISBN#: 978-1888160673
- Foreword by Diane Fanning, Award winning true crime author of Mommy’s Little Girl
HOLDING MY HAND THROUGH HELL can be ordered from
Ice Cube Press,
Amazon,
Barnes & Noble
and all other online book retailers as well as through your local book stores.
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- Book Release, Susan Murphy-Milano – Holding My Hand Through Hell… (annyjacoby.com)
- “Holding My Hand Through Hell” by Susan Murphy Milano is Must Reading! (docbonn.wordpress.com)
- Time’s Up | Susan Murphy Milano Soars with Angels (and Likely Still Kicks Butt) (herewomentalk.com)
- Holding My Hand Through Hell (dianefanning.blogspot.com)
- Holding My Hand Through Hell – By @murphymilano (neilschori.com)

You sure know how to touch people’s emotions. In a few short words, you’ve highlighted the life of a then-helpless little girl who grows up into a courageous, unstoppable tiger, flighting evil in the name of innocent victims, yet as you say, horror still haunts her, finding love in “all the wrong places”, The way you tell this, it sounds like a Hollywood script. Thank you for sharing.
Many Thanks! YOUR comment touches my heart, Kay! Hopefully Susan would be proud of my words… DRG