You Carried Me: A Daughter's Memoir
January 13, 2017 12:00 ET

What happens when an abortion survivor finds her birth mother... who never knew her daughter was alive?

Melissa Ohden was fourteen when she learned that she was the survivor of a botched abortion. In Melissa's new book, You Carried Me: A Daughter's Memoir,she shares for the first time the intimate details regarding her search for her biological parents, and her own journey from anger and shame to faith and forgiveness. This intensely personal story of love and redemption illumines the powerful bond between mother and child that can overcome all odds.

Join Melissa as she shares her story and speaks with a keen sensitivity to issues such as adoption and the need for women who have been impacted by abortion to receive compassion and be empowered to share their stories.

Melissa Ohden is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion in 1977. Despite the initial concerns regarding Melissa's future after surviving the attempt to end her life at approximately seven months gestation, she has not only survived but thrived. With a Master's Degree in Social Work, she has worked in the fields of substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence and sexual assault counseling, and child welfare.

Melissa was formerly a College Outreach Speaker with Feminists for Life and is the former Patron of Real Choices Australia. She has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and the Australian Parliament. Melissa is on the Board of Directors for the Vitae Foundation, a national organization which uses media to advance a culture of life.

In 2012, Melissa founded The Abortion Survivors Network (ASN). ASN seeks to educate the public about failed abortions and survivors while providing emotional, mental, and spiritual support to abortion survivors. Since ASN's inception, Melissa has been in contact with over 209 survivors.

Melissa has been featured on television and radio programs including: The 700 Club, EWTN's Life on the Rock and Defending Life, Fox News, Focus on the Family, American Family Radio, The Mike Huckabee Show, and the Teresa Tomeo show. Her life and ministry is featured in the award winning pro-life documentary, A Voice for Life.

After years of searching for her biological family and offering them forgiveness for the decision that was made to end her life, Melissa's story, and her life, is so much more than one of survival. It's evidence of the intergenerational impact of abortion on all of our lives. More importantly, it's a testament to the beauty of God's grace in our lives, the power of love, and the transformational power of forgiveness and in answering God's call for your life.

Fulfilling the purpose that she believes God set out for her when He saved her from the certain death of the abortion attempt, Melissa is truly a voice for the voiceless.

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