Kristen Lewis Cunnane

Undoing Jane Doe Kristen Lewis Cunnane

Raised in the idyllic and close-knit northern California town of Moraga, Kristen Lewis Cunnane had it all at 12: a treasured family, close friends, a valued position on a variety of sports teams, and excellent grades. By any pre-teen's standards, hers was certainly a life to envy.

Unfortunately, this happiness was to be short-lived as Kristen suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her middle school science teacher. Afraid to discuss the event with her parents or close friends, Kristen turned to a trusted female coach and teacher for guidance. When they first met, Julie Correa was seemingly the perfect role model for a naive 11-year-old. However, this woman spent years earning Kristen's trust while at the same time manipulating her psyche. In a sickeningly ironic twist, this so-called mentor ultimately transformed Kristen's life into one of sexual slavery over the entirety of her high school tenure. With controlling and calculated precision, Correa was able to both isolate Kristen from her family and simultaneously assault her in her childhood bedroom.

Undoing Jane Doe chronicles Kristen's heartbreaking experience and the harrowing aftermath that nearly drove her to suicide. Using actual transcripts from pretexual phone calls and court records, Cunnane takes the reader through the years of prolonged abuse and the eventual takedown of a sexual predator. Haunting, insightful, and inspiring, Undoing Jane Doe showcases a deplorable side of humanity while at the same time manages to remind us of the sheer strength of the human spirit.