Publication Date: June 20, 2025
“Shattering the Mirror” is a memoir about one woman’s quest to confront her life and see through the distortions of her traumatic past. Lena was raised in madness by a violent, 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 shatters—allowing her to experience life in a new way. Shedding her armor, she learns to fully feel and forgive, finally embracing life. Now in her late sixties, Lena lives with more freedom, clarity, and love than she ever imagined. The book is really about the truth that healing is possible at any age — and that wholeness is priceless.
One woman’s lifelong journey to overcome the impact of a mentally ill mother unfolds in Shattering the Mirror.
Author Lena Fein recalls being the target of her mother’s emotional attacks as a little girl, caught up in a roller coaster of negativity. It’s not until she’s at her mother’s deathbed that Lena finally escapes the mental prison constructed around her emotions.
Through raw, unfiltered memories, Lena reconstructs a childhood with a father who often travels, leaving his four daughters at the mercy of a mother prone to cleaning frenzies and fits of rage often directed at Lena. To cope, Lena adopts a strategy of perfection. However, with her emotions dulled and distant, Lena instinctively looks for solutions.
The story traces her successful career and the two failed marriages. Therapists provide valuable insight once Lena is able to articulate her story. Creating a new image in the mirror rather than the one shaped by her mother’s abuse finally unlocks the door to happiness.
Shattering the Mirror illustrates, through an emotional memoir, how childhood experiences can impact adult behavior.
Lena Fein lives in San Francisco, the city of her birth. After receiving a master’s degree in engineering from UC Berkeley, she enjoyed a successful career in the high-tech industry. Additionally, she founded a nonprofit that funds various health and education projects in at-risk communities around the globe. Now retired, Lena enjoys the arts in all their forms, from painting and writing to singing and dancing. Currently, Lena is often seen taking long walks by the bay and hugging her grandchildren. Her memoir, “Shattering the Mirror” is about her quest to confront her life and see through the distortions of her traumatic childhood. Now in her late sixties, Lena lives with more freedom, clarity, and love than she ever imagined. The book is really about the truth that healing is possible at any age — and that wholeness is priceless.
