Deborah Leah Adams

Author

Deborah Leah is 59 years old. She lives with a roommate and their two cats. When not working or writing, she enjoys spending time with her friends, often sharing meals and stories (which never feel old). She has a sister in Poconos, PA, and her parents live in the hills of TN. She is a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Deborah was a nanny for much of her career. She loves children’s laughter, playing outside, encouraging creativity, and most of all, modeling and teaching. She is proud of all “her” children and happy for those she still sees.

Deborah published her book “Winning Over Shame – a memoir of surviving sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse, plus the skills and tools anyone can use to find their whole and happy” in July 2026. It recounts her abuse and the ways it showed up in her life. Including the 12-year relationship with her ex-husband, where trying alternative lifestyles escalated to becoming members of a swinger’s group.

Deborah’s work goes far beyond exploring her pain and the aftermath, however. Half her book explores her road to whole and happy.

She went from struggling to tell someone “No” to running a de facto boarding house and completing a BS in psychology. She learned to manage anxiety and end her lifelong desire to not be.

Like so many abuse survivors, Deborah spent her life comparing the worst of her insides to the best of everyone else’s outsides. She shares relationships that have grown and helped her to be less judgmental toward herself.

Some of the greatest parts of “Winning Over Shame” are the tools that Deborah created to manage her own pain and emotions. One of these tools is a coping box. Deborah shares extensive lists of items and ideas. There are choices ground and others to lift someone stuck in their emotions. Anyone can create a coping box for during a crisis or for day-to-day triggers.