She has overcome a childhood that went far beyond that which any child should be expected to bear and the tremendous hurt and trauma she suffered for many years.

Now 47, and a resident of Surf Beach for 20 years, Deborah survived, she said, because of a seed of hope, that her life would someday emerge from the nightmare, was planted in her heart at the age of seven, and which she never let go of.

Then the power of writing poetry was added to her armoury by the time she was 13 – it helped to shut out the horrific hurt and gave her the strength to dream of better times on her long journey of healing.

Her verses didn’t go unnoticed.

“I topped the class in year 8 and my English teacher wanted me to keep up my writing because she thought I had a real talent,” Deborah said.

And so, too, does a Melbourne publisher.

In 2009, the publisher printed a small galley proof run of For The Moment, a small anthology of her work with a collection of beloved family photos.

The poems are moving, emotional and straight from the heart.

Deborah’s story is brought to life in “The Message”, which follows her journey from darkness into the light, from her wish for a magic wand to take away her pain and her unanswered cries for help to her gaining the strength to change her life and turning it in another direction.

“My Flower” is a poem of a mother’s love for her eldest daughter.

The idea of having her verse in print came from her husband Kevin.

“He prompted me to send the poems to a publisher for an opinion,” she said.

“I sent off my manuscript and a week later Kevin passed away.

“A week after that, I received word from the publisher that he was very interested and with it came a contract.”

The reviews sent in after the galley proof run (five copies went to Deborah and five to reviewers) were “excellent” but following Kevin’s death all thoughts of her anthology being published went on the backburner.

As well as grieving for Kevin, she had to care for their combined family of nine children and she also educated herself to gain employment.

She is very proud of all the kids and is looking forward to daughter Rhiannon graduating with a law degree this year and to the birth of her second grandchild.

She now works at a job she adores – as a disability support worker - and those childhood dreams of security love and happiness have not only come true but also still inspire her.

She is working on another book of poems and her publisher has also expressed interest in her biography.

Deborah is saving hard to meet her hopes of For The Moment being printed within the next few months but she needs a helping hand to raise the total of $4200 required for a 1000 print run.

Deborah can be contacted on 0448 922 347 and donations can be made to NAB Trust Account 2432-837008928.