by Ramona Treviño & Roxane Salonen
Ramona Treviño, begins her life story by recounting a situation as a pre-teenager and how she climbed a ladder and sat on the roof and asked God to send her a sign so she would know God was real. (Spoiler: she got her sign.) She promised herself to follow God always. A few years later, while watching the movie Song of Bernadette she told her mother she wanted to become a nun. However, a stormy family life and growing pains made it hard for her to be faithful to these commitments.
Pregnant at 16, she dropped out of high school, and married the father of her child. The marriage quickly became abusive, eventually ending in divorce.
Ramona had always wanted to make a difference in the world, and when she had an opportunity to work at Planned Parenthood, she accepted a position as the manager of a Planned Parenthood facility in Sherman, Texas. While the location did NOT do abortions, they did do referrals, and being a small office, everyone pitched in and did everything.
Ramona shares in detail the experience and feelings she had the first time she referred a woman for an abortion. Another “adventure” Ramona recounts is her speaking at a youth detention facility about “safe sex.” These experiences led her to ponder as she struggled with whether she was doing women more harm than good, setting her on a path to seek the truth, no matter where it might lead.
Ramona shares her “falling away” and then return to her roots in the Catholic faith, and she shares how this impacted her struggle and decision to eventually leave her job with Planned Parenthood. Realizing she could no longer refer women for abortions or provide them with false assurances of risk-free sex, Ramona took a leap of faith and left the financial security of her job. Her eventual resignation from manager at Planned Parenthood eventually led her to a new role as a pro-life advocate and speaker.
This compelling story tells of Ramona’s struggle to reconcile her identity as a daughter of God with a world that sends conflicting messages concerning the source of our dignity and happiness. It is the honest and heartfelt account of a woman who, with the help of grace, strove to overcome the wounds of her own past while becoming an agent of healing for others.
If you would like to borrow any of our library of books, contact our office. Also available at Amazon.com in both English and Spanish. https://www.amazon.com/Redeemed-Grace-Catholic-Woman%C2%92s-Parenthood/dp/1586179144/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=redeemed+by+grace&qid=1584573356&sr=8-3