When Brin Miller discovers that her teenage stepson has been sexually abusing her two young daughters, her life is upended and her crumbling marriage shatters completely. But she and her husband, along with their girls, work to learn resilience, forgiveness, strength, and courage, and in doing so, the unimaginable happens: they begin to heal.

One terrible night in 2011, Brin Miller’s life is upended when she learns that her teenage stepson has been sexually abusing her two daughters. Once this secret is discovered, Brin’s marriage, already crumbling and unable to sustain itself, breaks apart. But against all odds, Brin and her husband, along with their daughters, are gradually able to learn resilience, forgiveness, strength, and courage, and—miraculously—Brin’s marriage begins to heal. Haunting and horrible yet hopeful and beautiful, Buried Saints is a fast and raw memoir of forgiveness and resilience, a revelatory look into a family deeply destroyed by deceit, and a truly astonishing story about the intense, unpredictable love of two parents who have to decide whether to fall or flourish in a tragic situation.

Brin Miller grew up in an affluent suburb outside of New York City. A graduate of Denison University, she was an all-American swimmer who married her childhood sweetheart and climbed the corporate ladder with the same drive and determination that had served her well growing up. After her first marriage failed, she remarried in 2004. In her early thirties, she had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want—but behind closed doors, her family grappled with betrayal, anger, and blame. In an attempt to pull back the curtain on a world many consider “secret and untouchable,” Miller has chronicled her harrowing experience of bringing her children back from the trauma of sexual abuse at the hand of a close relative.

2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Autobiography/Biography “The author has written a hauntingly beautiful account of a family torn apart by tragedy and rebuilt by strength, love, and faith. The story of trauma and the insidious ways that it affects people’s lives and the ripple effect it has on the whole family is eloquently shared and leaves a mark of deep sadness yet deep faith in the power of human connection and healing. I am humbled by the strength of the author to persevere and to find the positives among the rubble. A must-read for anyone looking for a renewed sense of faith in the human spirit.” —Sandra Birch, licensed clinical social worker and trauma specialist
“Writing powerfully from the heart, Miller tells a compelling story of her family’s surviving and even thriving in the wake of devastating events in the lives of their children. With humility, vulnerability, and warmth, she does not shy away from the pain of loss and betrayal but faces it all head-on with courage and leads us gently through the losses of abuse into hope. Love is costly and demands more than we think we can give, but the rewards are beyond measure. This family’s story bears that out in so many life-giving ways. I appreciate her and her husband’s willingness to let us in on her family’s struggle and the courage it took to bring the truth to light, to allow those hurt to tell their story, and to do all in their power to protect from future harm. Every parent should read this book.” —The Rev. Dr. Heather Wright, author of Redeeming Eve: Finding Hope Beyond the Struggles of Life and Small Group Leadership as Spiritual Direction, and coauthor of Sacred Stress: A Radically Different Approach to Using Life’s Challenges for Positive Change
“I have been an ordained priest for forty-six years. I have also been a practicing family therapist. After reading Buried Saints, I was struck by the depth of human pain that innocent young people have to endure and survive. There is no minimizing human suffering. Yet our capacity for resiliency is amazing. In the story of Buried Saints, the deeper underpinnings of faith have contributed to weaving threads of resiliency. It is, tragically, an all-too-familiar story in our society. Yet we are not without resources. Everyone can be inspired by this story of hope.” —Liam G. Collins, ordained priest
“What a beautiful, thought-provoking, very powerful, heart-wrenching story. A story truly about true faith, love, and miracles. This is a story that needs to be written and read. I shudder at how many people are secretly living a version of this. Maybe this story can give them the help they need. It is a message that needs to get out there.” —Misty Smith, spiritual life coach