>>That's chilling.<<

Yep.

>> One wonders what has been done to her.<<

Variously child abuse, molestation, and neglect.

>>But, that said, this is overall a... "happy" isn't the word I want, but something more definite than "positive"... <<

Hopeful? Promising?

>>story about options opening up, and learning to overcome negative elements in one's life and change them into positive ones. <<

Yay! I'm glad it worked for you.