Note: we are republishing this story which originally made the news in September 2012. In a candid interview, Pattie Mallette, mother of pop star Justin Bieber, shared the emotional journey that shaped her life—from enduring years of sexual abuse to choosing to keep her baby at 17 despite pressure to have an abortion.

In her memoir Nowhere But Up, Mallette recounts the trauma of abuse, her struggles with shame, depression, and a suicide attempt in her teens. “It was the result of years of pain,” she said.