1161 Covington Road

The Girl Left Behind – Reclaiming My Voice After Childhood Abuse – Series

Yes, I have withdrawn from people, from intimacy, from the world itself. I found safety in small rituals and long hours of familiar television. But I will not let fear decide the shape of my life. I face it with strength forged through survival, grounding myself in what I already know I can withstand.

I am a grown woman now, and I know what monsters are. My childhood was defined by abuse and silence, and my adolescence by betrayal.

Once I went to live with Al and Dotti in Los Altos, my life entered a period of sustained abuse: incest, molestation, parental neglect, severe corporal punishment, and rape.

As a teenager, I was sexually trafficked […]

By Doré Frances|2026-02-08T10:29:11-07:00February 7th, 2026|1161 Covington Road, Aldo Cascinai (Dad), Dore Frances, Relationships, Series, The Girl Left Behind Series, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

The Girl Left Behind – Reclaiming My Voice: Surviving Childhood Abuse, Trauma, and Silence – Series

Content Warning

This piece contains personal reflections on childhood sexual abuse, trauma, and post-traumatic stress. The experiences are shared thoughtfully and without graphic detail. Please read at your own pace and take care of yourself however you need.

Reclaiming My Voice

A few hours ago, a hike with Aspen felt like exactly what I needed. Now, the sadness has quietly moved back in.

I sit down to write, knowing it won’t be easy. This writing is one of the ways I continue to reclaim my life. I am facing those who caused harm, even though they no longer walk this earth. Still, I woke this morning feeling strong. The sun shimmered, […]

By Doré Frances|2026-01-04T12:06:30-07:00January 4th, 2026|1161 Covington Road, Aldo Cascinai (Dad), Dore Frances, Relationships, Series, The Girl Left Behind Series, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

Whispers To The Soul – The Weight I Learned to Carry – Series

I carry a sadness that does not belong to just one moment or reason. It has no single source. It is a sadness that slowly closes me off, separating me from myself and from others, one quiet inch at a time. It is as though I feel the world in its rawest form, every small tremor of emotion around me. This sadness has lived with me for as long as I can remember. Choosing sadness became something I learned early—less a choice than a survival strategy that once made sense.

Some children are taught, quietly and early, to absorb the sadness around them. After my mother died when I was nine, I was moved into a household […]

By Doré Frances|2025-11-09T12:44:35-07:00November 9th, 2025|1161 Covington Road, Dore Frances, Relationships, Series, Whispers To The Soul, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

When Someone Shows You Who They Are, Believe Them

I woke at 5 a.m., my heart aching and my mind swirling around a lesson life keeps teaching me: when someone reveals their true self, believe them.

Don’t dismiss the way someone treats you—it’s telling you everything you need to know.

When they act as though you don’t matter, believe them. When they consistently put someone else ahead of you, it’s because they believe you’re not their priority.

When they focus on what’s “wrong” with you, believe that is truly how they see you.

A person’s actions reveal the truth behind their words. They show where their loyalty truly lies and whether you hold a place of priority in their life. Sometimes the truth […]

By Doré Frances|2025-08-12T11:06:07-06:00August 12th, 2025|1161 Covington Road, Dore Frances, Relationships, Spirituality, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

Between Two Worlds: A Spiritual Awakening in Fifth Grade

I was in fifth grade when a quiet awareness settled in that I was between two worlds – I hadn’t been living in what most would call the “real world.”

The moment unfolded on a sunlit playground in Los Altos, California, as curious eyes studied me with a mix of wonder and confusion.

It became clear: I was different.

One of the so-called hippie kids—born in San Francisco, raised on intuition, and open skies.

My hair was long, my stepmother walked her path with sacred herbs, and I came into this life with an empath’s gift—feeling deeply, seeing between the lines, sensing what others missed.

That day, I didn’t feel out of place—I felt awakened.

A soul realizing a different rhythm had shaped it, […]

By Doré Frances|2025-08-05T10:33:31-06:00August 5th, 2025|1161 Covington Road, Dore Frances, Relationships, Spirituality, The Sixties and Seventies Counterculture, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

Near Death Experience: Surviving My Stepmother’s Abuse: A Story of Pain, Silence, and Strength – Series

The trauma inflicted by my stepmother echoed through every corner of my childhood. I was nine when my mother died. Two years later, George and I met our stepmother, Dotti, and our two half-brothers, Rick and Ron.

Ron was born the day after our mother died—October 15, 1962.

That date would take on deeper meaning in the years to come.

From the very beginning, Dotti made her resentment of us clear. Her abuse was constant and unrelenting.

She struck out physically—yanking my hair, slapping my face, locking me in closets, and denying me meals.

Her true cruelty lay in her emotional warfare: calculated, relentless, and all-consuming.

There was no respite, no safe moment. Her […]

By Doré Frances|2025-10-04T13:41:50-06:00June 1st, 2025|1161 Covington Road, Dore Frances, Near Death Experiences, Near Death Experiences, Spirituality, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

Resilience Through Adversity: A Story of Stoicism and Self-Discovery

Epictetus once said that all philosophy begins with self-knowledge. When I entered 1161 Covington Road, the air grew heavy with darkness. It clung to everything. Before long, the police would become familiar visitors to that address.

It wasn’t just the atmosphere; it was in the air, in the silence that followed.

Then came Dotti’s words—cold, cutting, and final:

“You two aren’t wanted here. Who would want children who killed their mother? Just stay out of my way.”

Our father said nothing. He stood silent, just as he would far too often in the years to come.

Two small children, still reeling from the loss of their mother just […]

By Doré Frances|2025-06-08T15:04:35-06:00May 20th, 2025|1161 Covington Road, Dore Frances, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

The Girl Left Behind – What Came Before: Uncovering Truth Through Trauma and Memory – Series

So much of my beginning was shaped by my grandfather’s quiet strength.

It feels right, at least to me, that I’m beginning to write this story now, as I wait for more information from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department and sit with the simple fact that I am still here. There’s a pull to remember my life, and all the people who shaped it.

I want to reflect on our shared time: growing up, stumbling forward, and doing my best with what I knew.

I want to make space for the grief I carried—often silently—after losing the greatest love of my life when I was just nine years old.

I want to hold every detail from a life interrupted, a life some tried to […]

By Doré Frances|2025-10-04T13:45:54-06:00May 4th, 2025|1161 Covington Road, Dore Frances, Frances Cascinai (Mom), The Girl Left Behind Series, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments