Overcoming Childhood Neglect and Finding Hope | Carolyn Deck’s Story — Louise Sedgwick

This week I’m joined by New Zealander and author Carolyn Deck, who begins sharing her story of growing up in a home shaped by brokenness and neglect. With an alcoholic mother and an absent father, Carolyn learned early to fend for herself. Instead of being nurtured, she found herself caring for her mother while her own needs went unmet. The message she absorbed from her chaotic childhood was painful and persistent. She believed she was unworthy of attention or care because her parents consistently chose themselves over her.

As a teenager, Carolyn received the opportunity to travel to the United States as a foreign exchange student and lived with a loving family in Kansas. For the first time, she witnessed what a healthy family could look like, and hope began to grow in her heart. During that time, she also sensed God speaking gently to her, assuring her that He saw her and would meet her needs. But when Carolyn returned to New Zealand, the welcome she longed for never came. Instead, she faced another painful experience of abandonment that would shape the next chapter of her journey.