Kadian, nicknamed Charm, begins her life enveloped in the natural beauty of Jamaica and the love of her great-grandmother. But when she moves to New York with her twin brothers at the age of six, she is unprepared for what will befall her under her parents’ roof. She tries to overcome her shock at the unimaginable abuse directed at her but starts to lose touch with the gentle self she once knew. If Kadian is the tender soul who entered the world, Charm is the person who evolves to make sure she survives in it.

Charm succeeds against the odds, confronting tragedy, addiction, and betrayal at the hands of those who should love and protect her, especially her mother. Charm is a marvel, becoming a college graduate, wife, mother, homeowner, and prosperous businesswoman. But no matter how much Charm achieves, she remembers the promise her younger self made to live her life differently. She can’t shake the question, “What good is leaving generational wealth when you and your loved ones are stuck in generational traumas?”

For all of Charm’s triumphs, not even she is strong enough to endure the façade of a happy life. Feeling inadequate as a mother, not wanting her children to suffer, and with a husband who doesn’t understand her struggle, she finally seeks help for depression. She will need to summon more courage than ever to do what must be done to reconnect with Kadian and the life she first felt beckoning her at four years old.

In her remarkable memoir, Leaving a Charmed Life: A True Story of Choosing Authentic Happiness, Kadian Grant inspires the courage in all of us to tell the truth, break generational patterns, and free ourselves to pursue our own authentically happy lives.