Lena Fein
Shattering the Mirror
Speaker, Non-profit Founder, Tech Retiree and Author of Shattering the Mirror
San Francisco, CA
BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: 2025
Genre: Memoir/Inspiration/Self-Help for Abuse
Publisher: Lena Fein
Page Count: 314
Format, ISBN, Price:
Paperback, 979-8218702717, $15.99;
ebook, $3.99
ABOUT THE BOOK
Lena was raised in madness by a violent and controlling mother, obsessed with household cleanliness and the beauty of her porcelain dolls. To survive, Lena perfected the art of dissociation, racing through school with straight A’s, becoming a top producer at a high-tech company, and clicking through two marriages without ever slowing down long enough to fully experience life. At fifty-one, Lena looks into the eyes of her dying mother, and her warped mirror finally shatters. She begins to experience life in a new way. She learns to feel and forgive, shedding her armor and embracing life.
Shattering the Mirror is a memoir about one woman’s quest to confront her life and see through the distortions of her traumatic past. Her story is a testament that healing is possible at any age — and that wholeness is priceless.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lena Fein is an author, retired engineer, and philanthropist based in San Francisco. A graduate of Engineering at UC Berkeley, Lena spent decades as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at a successful high tech company. When Lena was fifty-one, her mother died which propelled Lena on a path of healing from childhood abuse and trauma. Her debut memoir, Shattering the Mirror, explores her transformative journey to wholeness. Lena believes it is never too late to reclaim your freedom and truth. Now in her late sixties, Lena can often be found taking long walks by the San Francisco Bay and hugging her grandchildren.
TALKING POINTS
THE IMPACT OF THE UNSEEN
- How and why Lena’s academic and professional success were driven by an unconscious need to overcompensate for childhood trauma.
- How growing up with a narcissistic mother shaped her relationships and sense of self.
- Why recording the audiobook of Shattering the Mirror served as a pivotal milestone in Lena overcoming her shame. Speaking her story aloud in front of a thirty-something male sound engineer activated old fears of judgment, shame, and exposure rooted in her traumatic past. The patience and kindness the engineer exhibited helped Lena claim not only her authentic voice but find deeper healing, courage and trust.
- How spending the early part of her career as one of only a few young women in tech, ultimately delaying her healing journey.
FINDING PEACE
- How a childhood accident physically blocked Lena’s ability to fully breathe for over 60 years, normalizing her anxiety. The “arrival” of being grounded in full breath after corrective surgery was a milestone in her healing journey.
- Why Lena is now dedicated to creating “shame-free” spaces where trauma survivors can finally speak their truth.
- Why “falling into peace” in her sixties required Lena to overcome a lifetime of believing that stillness was dangerous.
- Lena now relies on two simple but profound mantras: “I’m getting braver” and “I walk as a blessing.” How these simple phrases marked a shift from surviving to living with intention.
RECLAIMING HER BODY AND MIND
- Keeping a gymnastics injury at age twelve a secret shaped her relationships, child births, and intimacy for most of her life. How she found the courage to speak and seek help in her sixties was life changing.
- Critical red flags every woman should watch out for when looking for their “impeccable safe space” to heal and understand themselves.
- The resources Fein found to educate her healing journey; therapy, women’s groups, dance, singing, painting and spiritual practices.
- Why reclaiming her authentic voice five decades later was the key to shedding her protective shell and building authentic, healthy and intimate relationships.
TIMELY TIE-INS
February
- International Boost Self Esteem Month
- Self Renewal Day – 2
March
- Women’s Month
- International Day of Happiness – 20
- National Each Person Is a Person of Worth Day – 24
April
- Counseling Awareness Month
- Stress Awareness Month
- National Child Abuse Prevention Month
- National Reconciliation Day – 2
May
- Mental Health Awareness Month
June
- Audiobook Month
- Forgiveness Day – 26
PRAISE
“I didn’t expect to be undone by this book, but it touched my own mother’s wound in a profound way. Fein writes about survival through dissociation—racing through life with straight A’s, climbing the corporate ladder, checking all the boxes—while never slowing down enough to actually feel anything… In her story, I saw myself reflected in the mirror of our shared humanity.”
— Alla Weinberg, Amazon reviewer
“It was SO interesting, reading what this girl went through and was still able to climb out from all the “quick sand” her mother had her in during her childhood, to become so powerful in the business world amazed me. This story captivated me. From her descriptions, I felt I was there living this with her.”
— JoAnne Morris, Amazon reviewer
“Lena’s personal journey from a verbally abusive, non-loving childhood, to a successful career in high tech, two marriages, two children, the underlying feeling of shame, that she wasn’t enough, that she wasn’t loved, filled with rage, finally taking control of her story through therapy, self-expression, and the shedding of the negative influences.”
— P Burgess, Amazon reviewer
“A ‘Read In One Sitting’ Book! A memoir, of horror, the sanctity of forgiveness, and what it means to live a life to its fullest potential. Filled with elegant, honest, raw emotions that share Lena Fein’s tumultuous journey, growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, rocketing to the top of her field, and then choosing to walk away from it all, confounding expectations, especially her own. And finally finding her true path, and self. A must read for everyone!”
— Anon, Amazon reviewer
“It takes great courage not only to weather life’s storms, but to gut it out and tell it like it is for others to experience as well. That is what this brave memoir by Lena Fein does–show up and take us with her on a rugged climb, a journey of pathos and pain and shock and finally into a place of healing and hope… Bravo Lena Fein!”
— Cara Wilson Granat, Amazon reviewer
“This raw, inspiring memoir is a real life authentic personal journey … The author slowly transformed into renewed awareness, resilience, and positive change. The emotional real time perceptions and pain are relatable, exquisite and daring. This memoir could benefit women who struggle with overcoming childhood trauma and reckless distorted love.”
— Lynn, Amazon reviewer