Writer to sign copies of memoir
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

Copies of Lisa Gardner's 'Out of Darkness into Light will be available Feb. 9 at Bath's Dormann Library.

BATH - The Dormann Library Feb. 9 will host Bath resident Lisa Sanford, who will sign copies of her recently published book, "Out of Darkness into Light," from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sanford, 47, began writing the memoir four years ago as a therapeutic exercise, in response to years of sexual abuse as a child and adolescent. "The whole reason for writing the book was to reach out to people and tell them how therapy has worked for me," Sanford said in an interview last week.

"Out of Darkness into Light" is a harrowing account of Sanford's abuse, which began when she was a young child growing up in a large family. The abuse continued through her teenage years and into her adulthood, when she had a series of relationships repeating the emotional patterns that formed when she was a little girl. She eventually began therapy sessions, finding the right therapist after meeting three other counselors.

"One thing I learned about therapy is that you have to want it bad enough to succeed," she writes. "You have to go through the process, not around it, under it or over it. Is it fun? Heck no, and it's not easy either."

Sanford's therapy session eventually began to show results, and in the spring of 2007 she received a bachelor's degree in social work from Keuka College. She now works in the Steuben County Department of Social Services through Pathways Inc.

"My main focus," Sanford said, "is there's not enough information out there about mental health. I want people to keep going and getting a better life for themselves. I just hope my book will help them or guide them."

Copies of "Out of Darkness into Light" will be on sale at the library.