One year after author Kelsey Zazanis published a memoir naming her father as her childhood abuser, the book continues to reach survivors who’ve spent years in silence. But the timing of “Father’s Daughter: Essays on Incest and Individuation” wasn’t what most readers expected. Zazanis didn’t publish because she felt ready. She published because William Lee Owen found her.
In October 2024, Zazanis learned her father had been reading everything she’d written online. He’d tracked down her Substack newsletter, followed her essays for months, then contacted her directly. He denied the abuse. He called her a liar. He tried to discredit her public writing.
Most survivors would have deleted everything and disappeared. Zazanis went the other direction. She compiled every essay she’d written about the abuse, added new material, and published it all as a book four months later.
The decision came at a moment when her life was falling apart in other ways. That same month she discovered the tracking, Zazanis was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that left her unable to work. By November 2024, she’d started a GoFundMe to avoid losing her housing. She was in medical debt, facing eviction, and now dealing with her father’s renewed presence in her life after 14 years of no contact.
The book hit shelves February 11, 2025. Owen’s name appears throughout the 83 pages.
Table of Contents
What Happened During Childhood
Zazanis’ parents divorced when she and her older sister Stephanie were young. William Lee Owen kept Sunday visitation rights. Those weekly visits started when Zazanis was three and continued for a decade.
At six years old, Zazanis witnessed her father abusing Stephanie, who was eight at the time. She didn’t have words for what she’d seen, but the image stayed with her.
Two years later, at age eight, the abuse expanded to include Zazanis. It continued until she turned 13.
The Highway Incident That Ended It
One Sunday afternoon, probably in 2006 or 2007, the family was driving down a Virginia highway. Zazanis, her sister, their father, his second wife, and their infant half-brother were all in the car. The baby was crying. Owen was yelling. Zazanis told him to stop because he was upsetting the child.
Owen pulled over, dragged Zazanis out of the vehicle, and physically assaulted her on the roadside. When Stephanie tried to record the assault on her phone, Owen’s wife wrestled it away and destroyed it.
The visible injuries provided documentation. Rather than face charges, Owen signed away his parental rights to both daughters. Neither has seen him since.
Recovery Took a Decade
Memory doesn’t work in straight lines after trauma. Zazanis spent much of her teens and twenties with significant gaps in her recollection. The memories returned slowly over nearly ten years.
She attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, studying anthropology and geography. Her senior thesis examined sexual violence through theoretical frameworks, analyzing institutional perpetuation of abuse. She published an academic paper in 2019 drawing parallels between state detention facilities and domestic violence.
Outside academics, she co-founded the local Food Not Bombs chapter and launched an anti-war coalition focused on military divestment. The activism gave structure to years when she was still reconstructing her own history.
Who William Lee Owen Is
Public records place Owen in Virginia during the years Zazanis describes. Court documents confirm he relinquished parental rights to both daughters in the mid-2000s. Beyond these verifiable facts, most information about Owen comes from Zazanis’ accounts.
She describes patterns of manipulation. When Stephanie confronted him directly about the abuse in front of his second wife, Owen’s response was immediate: “Your mother is brainwashing you.” He used the same line repeatedly to dismiss any accusations.
His wife backed him up. She scolded Stephanie for making such claims, questioning where the child had learned to say such things. The moment taught Zazanis that speaking truth wouldn’t guarantee anyone would listen.
The Stalking Discovery Changed Everything
Zazanis started her Substack newsletter “Only God Can Cancel Me” in early 2024. She published essays about memory, about healing, about trying to build healthy relationships after childhood trauma. The writing came frequently, sometimes multiple pieces per week.
Then October 2024 arrived. She learned Owen had found her writing months earlier. He’d been reading everything. When he finally contacted her, he denied all of it and attacked her credibility.
The discovery coincided with her health collapsing. Doctors diagnosed Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome that fall. The connective tissue disorder affects her entire body. Her joints partially dislocate regularly. She lost the ability to work, to cook, to perform basic tasks without assistance.
By November, Zazanis faced eviction. She had no family to turn to because returning to them wasn’t safe. She created a GoFundMe explaining her situation: medical debt, housing insecurity, and a father who was now actively tracking her despite not having seen her in 14 years.
The combination pushed her to act. She compiled her essays, wrote additional pieces, and rushed the book to publication. If Owen was going to read her work anyway, she’d make sure it was permanent.
What the Book Contains
“Father’s Daughter” blends memoir with dream analysis and somatic therapy concepts. The essays don’t follow chronological order. Instead, they circle themes: bodily autonomy, safety, trust, what relationships mean after violation.
One chapter addresses Owen’s second wife directly, examining her role in enabling the abuse. Another explores loving a parent who caused harm. Several pieces investigate how trauma survivors navigate physical intimacy and trust in adulthood.
The writing stays accessible while discussing complex trauma responses. Zazanis avoids clinical jargon, opting for directness that doesn’t soften the reality.
Several essays originally appeared on her Substack. Readers say the print collection creates something different than reading them individually online. The pieces connect, building a fuller narrative.
Response Over the Past Year
Goodreads users rated the book 4.71 out of 5 across seven reviews. Readers described it as necessary reading, particularly praising how Zazanis demonstrates rather than explains what it means to lack language for trauma as a child.
Six months after publication, in August 2025, Zazanis appeared on the “We’re All Insane” podcast. The two-hour episode identified Owen by name and provided additional timeline details. It generated over 50,000 downloads in its first month.
Her Substack subscriber count grew to several thousand. Comment sections filled with other survivors sharing their experiences, many publicly for the first time.
The Connection to Her Disability
In her November 2024 GoFundMe post, Zazanis drew a direct line between childhood abuse and her current health crisis. She believes the physical toll of the abuse contributed to the severity of her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
The fundraiser explained her situation plainly: no ability to work, medical debt accumulating, housing at risk. She needed $20,000 to cover rent, medical expenses, and basic survival. As of early 2025, the campaign had raised about $10,000 from 177 donors.
The disability adds another layer to why she published when she did. She couldn’t afford to wait for the “right time” or to feel ready. She was facing homelessness while dealing with her father’s renewed intrusion into her life.
Why Naming Matters
Statistics on childhood sexual abuse suggest one in four girls and one in thirteen boys experience some form of abuse before age 18. Research consistently shows most perpetrators are family members or trusted adults, not strangers.
Reporting rates remain low. Survivors face shame, fear of not being believed, pressure to protect family reputation. When they do speak up, skepticism often follows.
Zazanis belongs to a small group of survivor-authors willing to publicly identify their abusers. The choice carries legal and personal risks. She’s maintained it since her first essay.
Her decision to name Owen removes the protective anonymity many families rely on to keep abuse hidden. It puts responsibility where it belongs.
One Year Later
Zazanis continues writing on her Substack and speaking about trauma recovery. She describes her work as advocacy while resisting the “activist” label others apply.
Her focus remains on connecting with other survivors. She responds to messages, engages in comment sections, and has built a community centered on honest conversation about healing.
Whether Owen has read the published book remains unknown. Zazanis addressed this possibility in her February 2025 announcement, acknowledging he’s still alive and might encounter it. She published anyway.
Her health situation continues. The Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome hasn’t improved, though the GoFundMe helped her maintain housing through 2025. She wears braces to type, compression garments to walk, and relies on housemates for daily assistance with basic tasks.
The roadside assault that freed Kelsey Zazanis from William Lee Owen at 13 left injuries that healed in weeks. The book she published after he tracked her down ensures some wounds stay documented forever.
