Some stories are not easy to tell because they carry decades of pain, survival, and unanswered questions. But Dorothy L. Enciso’s story is also one of faith, restoration, and the kind of breakthrough that can only come after a woman has walked through the fire and still found the courage to rise.

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Dorothy’s earliest memories were marked by abandonment, separation, and instability. After being left by her mother at just three years old, she would go on to spend her youth in more than 40 foster homes. But what could have destroyed her became the foundation of her testimony.

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Today, Dorothy is an author, Sunday school teacher, praise singer, care team coordinator, retired professional, mother, and woman of faith. Her book, From Bondage to Breakthrough: The Pathway to Promise, reflects the life she has lived and the hope she now shares with others.

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Her fire is The Community Woman — and her story is proof that what tried to break you can become the very thing God uses to help someone else heal.

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Tell us your story. What have you overcome, rebuilt, created, survived, or stepped into?

Dorothy L. Enciso: One of my earliest memories is being abandoned in 1969, at the tender age of 3, along with my 5-year-old brother, by our mother, whom I never saw again until I was 24 years old.

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It would be five years before our father was able to track us down and bring us to live with him. And then tragedy struck, which resulted in me spending my youth in a series of more than 40 foster homes.

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At the age of 18, newly graduated from high school and thrust from foster care into the world of adulthood, this angry, defiant, broken young woman encountered God, and my life was forever changed.

 

At your lowest point, what did life feel like for you emotionally and mentally? When did you decide to make a change?

Dorothy L. Enciso: It felt like I was a basket case ready to explode. I felt like a nobody who would not be accepted by anyone.

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I realized after going to an apostolic church that God loves even me. That gave me all the hope that I needed to move forward with my life.

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What did rebuilding your life actually look like day to day? What was the hardest part of starting over?

Dorothy L. Enciso: I was married at 19 and divorced by 24 after being in a very emotionally abusive relationship.

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When he walked out with another woman, leaving me with an 8-month-old and a 2-year-old, it became all about them. I decided that they were not going to have the horrible life that I had, and I poured all that I could into them to make them better than me.

What I could not pour into them, I sought out from my church family for support. They took us under their wings to guide us.

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There were so many days that the ugly lie kept telling me that I was nothing and that I would fail with my kids. I fought hard through prayer against those thoughts.

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Today, my children are grown. One owns their own court reporting business, and the other one is about to start law school. If that isn’t the grace of God, I don’t know what is.

I fell many times, but God sent people to pick me back up and get me going again. I am a Sunday school teacher, a praise singer, a care team coordinator, and I am retired.

I thank God every day for loving me and helping me back up when everyone in my life, except my girls, tried to keep me down.

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What is one life lesson you learned that other women need to hear?

Dorothy L. Enciso: Life will tear you down, but you can’t have a testimony without first going through the test. Use that testimony to help someone else.

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What quote, mantra, or scripture do you live by?

Dorothy L. Enciso: Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not into your own understanding.”

 

What advice would you give to a woman who feels stuck right now?

Dorothy L. Enciso: Find your healing in God. He loves you so much.

You can do this life with God’s help. Cast your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

 

What is one tip you would give to women building a business or career?

Dorothy L. Enciso: Do your research. Find something that you love to do and dig in. You got this.

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What are you currently building, working on, or proud of?

Dorothy L. Enciso: I am currently working on my second book entitled Transitioning from the Victim Into a Victor.

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Dorothy’s story is not just about what she survived. It is about what she chose to do with the survival. She took abandonment, foster care, abuse, fear, motherhood, and pain, and allowed God to turn it into purpose. She became the mother she needed, the woman her daughters could look up to, and the voice someone else may need when they feel forgotten.

 

Her journey reminds us that breakthrough does not mean the pain never happened. It means the pain no longer gets the final word.

 

Dorothy is no longer living as the girl who felt unwanted. She is walking as a woman of faith, testimony, and promise.